Trump To Sign Order Directing Tighter Enforcement Of Foreign Work Visas

President Donald Trump is heading to Wisconsin on Tuesday to sign an executive order that seeks to tighten enforcement and perhaps reform a visa program that allows companies to hire highly skilled workers.

Reports out of Washington said Trump planned to sign an order called “Buy American, Hire American” at the Kenosha headquarters of tool manufacturer Snap-on Incorporated SNA.

The order calls for strict enforcement laws governing entry into the United States of foreign workers "for the stated purpose of creating higher wages and higher employment rates for workers in the United States," a senior official told reporters.

The order calls for a review of the H-1B visa program for the purposes of reforming it.

Tech Sector Relies On Guest Visas

Under the executive order, the departments of State, Justice, Labor and Homeland Security will take action to crack down on "fraud and abuse," but falls far short of Trump’s declaration to eliminate the H-1B altogether.

The H-1B is a temporary work permit that can last a maximum of six years. Companies in the technology sector in particular rely on guest workers using the H-1B visas.

The government uses an annual lottery to award visas to about 65,000 workers, mostly computer programmers, engineers and scientists.

According to myvisajobs.com's 2017 H1B Visa Report, here are some of the U.S. companies that relied on guest workers under the visa program:

• International Business Machines Corp.IBM hired 12,381 workers last year at an average salary of $87,378.
• Deloitte Consulting, 7645 workers, $122,667.
• Microsoft Corporation MSFT, 5,029 workers, $129,610.
• Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, 4,897 workers, $129,997.
• Ernst & Young LLP, 4,625 workers, $98,722.
• UST Global, 3,170 workers, $69,819.
• Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, 2,622 workers, $121,850.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, 1,765 workers, $111,283.
• Intel Corporation INTC 1,647 workers, $107,428.
• Facebook Inc FB 1,167 workers with an average salary of $145,683.

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All Smoke No Fire? Running America The Corporate Way: Welfare Vs. Profit Maximization ________ Image Credit: Screengrab from By The White House (YouTube: President Trump Signs H.J. Res. 41) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons