Republicans increasingly seem to be taking a page from Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I–Vt.) policy playbook. Many are not only embracing economic policies that the Vermont progressive has long advocated for, like government ownership of a private company, but also adopting Sanders' populist views on immigration.
On Wednesday, during a speech at the National Conservatism Conference, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R–Mo.) argued that providing avenues for foreigners to work in the United States, like the H-1B visa program—which allows employers to hire educated non-immigrant workers in specialty occupations—is detrimental to Americans. Rather than "keep[ing] America globally competitive" by "attracting the truly exceptional few," Schmitt asserted that programs like H-1B have "instead…imported a vast new labor force from abroad. Not to fill jobs Americans can or won't do, but to fill jobs Americans can [do]."
In Schmitt's view, the consequence of allowing foreigners to live and work in the United States has "undercut American wages, replaced American workers," and "funneled millions of foreign nationals to take the jobs, salaries, and futures that should belong to our own children." The H-1B visa program, he continued, "is kneecapping white collar workers right before our eyes."
