====== FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ======
America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Save American Jobs: Terminate H1-B and L-1 Visas
Boulder, CO -- The America First Party urges the repeal of all H1-B and L-1 visa laws. The two programs have eliminated many high technology and white-collar American jobs and have had a destructive impact on the economy.
Dan Charles, chairman of the America First Party stated, "The first target of the global economy was manufacturing and other blue collar American jobs. With tax and trade incentives and a blind eye to illegal immigration, America's manufacturing industries have been decimated and America's workers have been put into direct competition with low-wage workers here at home and abroad. Now, with H1-B and L-1 visas, our most highly skilled and highly paid workers, as well as many emerging small businesses are under assault. These are the jobs we were told would replace manufacturing jobs lost to globalization--now they want to take those away too. It is time the American people said 'Enough!' It is time to terminate these destructive visa programs."
Press Secretary Romelle Winters explained, "The H1-B program is designed to bring foreigners into the country to fill vacancies in areas where there are 'few qualified Americans'. These workers are paid less than their American counterparts and are often coerced into working longer hours, knowing that if they lose their jobs they will be sent home. Although there are many restrictions on these workers, these controls are usually ignored and too often the program is abused to bring in 'Sanitation Engineers' and sex industry workers."
Mrs. Winters continued, "American workers are gaining the skills we need at our colleges and taxpayer funded job-retraining programs. The jobs these recent graduates want are too often unavailable, having been filled by H1-B workers from other countries. The boom in Silicon Valley has become a bust as high-salaried employees are replaced--permanently--by imported helpers."
Although many Americans know about the H1-B program, they are not aware of the even more insidious L-1 visa program. It allows a company with international offices to bring an unrestricted number of high technology workers from offices overseas to work in this country, without H1-B's restrictions on how long they may stay or why they are coming. The company is not restricted on salaries paid or on benefits given to foreign replacement employees. The American worker is then often placed in the demeaning position of training his replacement. The L-1 visa is a ticket to cheap labor for international companies.
Mike Emmons, America First Party of Florida member and worker visa reform activist, is an outspoken critic of the H1-B and L-1 visas. He has objected to members of Congress, without success, since Congressmen are dependent on the global corporations for campaign donations. Mr. Emmons observed: "These programs are a complete fraud that our government has inflicted on the American citizens, and they need to be stopped immediately before further damage is done to our economy and the security of the American workers."
Contacts:
Dan Charles, National Chairman, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 4
Romelle Winters, Press Secretary, 1-866-SOS-USA1, ext. 2
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