“There’s a lot of will right now within this administration to address this problem [within the H-1B program], and a lot of it is new ways of enforcing old laws that are on the books,” Sell told a group of U.S. technology professionals on November 10. He added:
Just last week, Assistant Attorney General Dillon and I met with other high level officials within the administration to continue our coordination enforcement across multiple government agencies because it really is important that we build a united front with the Department of Labor, [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services], Department of Justice, to go after these companies and enforce our respective statutes to ensure that the law breaking ends and that American workers aren’t receiving the short end of the stick.
“We’re still exploring the best, most efficient way to use the tools that are available to us,” he told the group of American professionals who met in Washington to brief legislators and their staffers about the damage caused by the H-1B program. The group was organized by Kevin Lynn’s U.S. Tech Workers advocacy group for white-collar professionals.
The department is “going after the whales,” Sell said, adding:
We are going after the big fish here. They’re the ones who have sophisticated legal counsel and law firms on retainer who know know what the law requires and know what it prohibits, and if they’re flouting the law, then that’s a slap in the face to the Justice Department, to the people of this country and to the American workers who are suffering because of it.
So though our enforcement resources aren’t limitless, we are working aggressively to identify all these potential violations of federal law, [to] open investigations and hold employers accountable through enforcement actions or through resolution agreements that end the wrongdoing.
Officials at USCIS and the Labor Department are drafting regulations to reform the massive H-1B program and to curb the huge Optional Practical Training program. The two programs keep more than one million foreign workers in careers needed by American graduates, and are increasingly unpopular among voters. But both programs are strongly supported by investors who win more than $30 in stock-market gains for every dollar they cut from Americans’ salaries.
President Donald Trump’s Nov. 11 partial and mixed defense of the H-1B program has caused a massive pushback by his voters. It is not clear if the pushback will help or hinder reforms of the visa programs before the 2026 midterm elections.
Sell told the group:
So one of the hottest topics in Washington, D.C. right now, I’m sure you’re all aware of this, is the discussion of much-needed reform to our nation’s visa system. And I say much-needed reform because pretty much every meeting I go to on the issue of visa holders and workforce development, this issue comes up, and everyone has a negative reaction to it — at least everyone within the administration has a negative reaction to how it stands right now.
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It is [a big task] like pushing against the ocean … But we are starting to see progress already, just by providing new direction to the sections and the line attorneys that we have. A lot of them — both folks who stayed and new people coming in — are very dedicated to the mission of the departmentc…. Folks [are] taking their own initiative to identify potential violations … against US workers, and enthusiastically enforcing that.
So all these investigations take time to get to the bottom of what’s actually happening. If there’s frustration with lack of headlines on enforcement actions and arrests or whatever you want to call it, [you should] know that there’s a lot happening behind the scenes that doesn’t make it to the media … and there isn’t a lot of political will to move things along here.
Sell complimented the group of 20 tech workers who spent the day briefing legislators and staffers about the damage caused by the visa-worker programs:
Kevin [Lynn] and his organization are on the front lines of this fight, and I want to commend him and his team for all the work that they do for American workers. Without advocates like the [U.S Tech Workers] powerful industry actors really can lobby for harmful impacts without anyone standing on the other side. So you really need to have another voice in the room to make sure that these [corporations] can’t just run rashod over their workers. So thank you, Kevin, to you and your team for being a bulwark for the American worker. This is truly a tremendous work that you’re doing.
Many American white-collar workers are losing their jobs as their companies cut costs. Many corporations justify the job losses as a shift of resources into Artificial Intelligence development. But many of the job-cutting companies are moving those jobs into “Global Capacity Centers” in India’s cities.
“So you know, as well as I do, and probably better, that recent changes in the global economy have had an outsized effect on the American workers, particularly in the tech sector,” Sell told the meeting, adding:
Some of the world’s largest companies are racing to invest resources in AI that will almost certainly be transformative for both the industry and for the world and human civilization. As any major disruptive technology changes in the workforce are, of course, inevitable, yet contrary to many prevailing narratives, I don’t think all of the industry disruption is really the result of AI investment, but rather the all-too-common reach for cheap labor. I want to, want to make one thing crystal clear on with you all today, and that is regardless of what’s causing industry and workforce disruption under the leadership of President Trump and his administration, [the] advancements in technology will never be used as an excuse to forget the workers that built this country. Those who seek to take advantage of America during times of chaotic economic growth will be held accountable — I want to make that absolutely clear.
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When efficiency is the only goal, [then] talented and dedicated American workers are often thrown to the side in favor of cheap labor, and while this might look good on balance sheets in the near term, we believe it’s unhealthy and harmful to those responsible for these firms’ initial success, American workers are talented, they’re creative, hard working and dedicated to building something better for future generations. We must harness these attributes and enable our nation’s workforce to continue pursuing American greatness.
He continued:
This administration, perhaps more than any other administration in our nation’s history, I believe, is dedicated to protecting the U.S. worker and ensuring that American employers cannot cast aside their dedicated employees for foreigners for no other reason than a quick shot adrenaline to the corporate platform. Yet that appears to be what’s happening right now all over the country and around the world. So at the Civil Rights Division, our role
The Justice Department enforces the law, he said:
The state that we enforce is 8 U.S.C. § 1324(b) and it is particularly relevant for the tech sector right now. I think where we’re seeing visas. One of the challenges we face as an enforcer as a federal law is that this statute also prohibits discrimination [against Americans and] against visa holders as well … Our enforcement obligations are to walk that fine line in both protecting U.S. citizens and American workers, while also having a statutory obligation to ensure the visa holders themselves aren’t discriminated against … We do have some discretion at the Justice Department in picking our investigation targets and [we are] focusing on where we think there is a need for enforcement actions, and right now that is very much in favor of protecting the American worker.
So far, Sell said, they have acted against smaller companies:
Earlier this year, we announced two settlements with some tech staffing firms who were violating the statute by discriminating against American workers, U.S. workers, in favor of these [visa] holders. And I’m pleased to say that as a part of these settlements, we were able successful in obtaining these monetary fines and some major policy reforms within the companies to ensure that they don’t continue discriminating against US workers. This also includes a reporting obligation to the Justice Department, so we have some oversight over them to make sure that they’re not doing anything nefarious and behind the scenes.
Sell works for Harmeet Dhillon:
[I know with] absolute certainty that she’s a person who’s committed to the rule of law and to serving her country, and I want to thank her for giving me this opportunity to work with her and serve under her at the Justice Department. And it gives me an opportunity to meet with folks like you here in this room, and that’s just a real treat for me and a perk of working under her meeting at the Justice Department.
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