Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is advocating for a federal crackdown on the abuse of corporate H-1B visas, marking a significant shift for a Democrat who previously supported the strongest advocates for expanding employment-based immigration.
In a letter to the Department of Labor, USCIS, and the Department of Justice, Gallego urged aggressive oversight of tech-sector H-1B hiring, warning that corporations may be “undercut[ting] or replace[ing]” American workers at a time when Gen Z unemployment remains stubbornly high.
Gallego wrote that the program must “supplement the U.S. workforce — not replace it,” and pressed the Trump administration to explain how many new investigations it plans to launch into potential abuse, how it will prioritize targets, and whether companies that laid off U.S. workers while filing H-1B petitions will receive extra scrutiny.
The Department of Labor recently announced approximately 200 investigations into alleged abuses of the H-1B program, The Dallas Express reported.
The posture stands in sharp contrast to Gallego’s earlier stance. In 2018, as a then-House member, he joined a letter from Rep. Pramila Jayapal defending work authorization for H-4 dependent spouses (mostly wives of H-1B visa holders), arguing it “made our economy stronger” and strengthened U.S. competitiveness.
In 2019, he voted to advance H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, which would have lifted per-country caps on employment-based green cards and expanded opportunities for long-term H-1B and H-4 visa holders.
A Broader Democratic Realignment
In Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Dr. Amy Acton has made Vivek Ramaswamy’s strong defense of H-1B hiring a central line of attack. Ramaswamy argued in 2024 that foreign-born engineers are hired because U.S. culture “venerates mediocrity,” prompting Acton to accuse him of smearing working-class Ohioans, The Dallas Express reported.
Acton’s populist criticism mirrors Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) joining with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to excoriate Amazon for continuing to hire H-1B workers while laying off Americans, at a time of rising unemployment in certain tech professions, The Dallas Express reported.
Arizona, Gallego’s home turf, is another must-win battleground. After defeating Kari Lake in 2024, Gallego’s tougher-on-corporations shift comes as Lake has maintained a high profile advising the United States Agency for Global Media under Trump, where she waged her own campaign to discharge foreign J-1 workers at Voice of America and cast herself as a strict enforcer of immigration rules, per The Atlantic.
Why Gallego’s Shift Matters
Gallego’s new focus aligns him with the emerging bipartisan bloc skeptical of corporate H-1B usage, from populist Republicans to long-time skeptics like Durbin. It also distances him from Democrats like Jayapal, with whom he once partnered to expand the program.
The move comes as young American tech workers, especially recent graduates, face persistently high unemployment, rising housing costs, and layoffs across major firms.
Nevertheless, some congressmen continue to support the program. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) has reintroduced a bill that would double the annual cap on H-1B visas, DX reported.
“To build the jobs and industries of tomorrow, America must stay at the forefront of innovation by strengthening our own workforce while continuing to welcome top talent from around the globe,” Krishnamoorthi said in a press release. “The HIRE Act advances both goals by boosting STEM education in our elementary and secondary schools and by expanding the annual supply of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 130,000. By growing our domestic talent pipeline and ensuring employers can recruit the skilled workers they need, we can create good-paying jobs and secure America’s leadership in the technologies of the future.”
