Sessions calls claims of a highly skill labor shortage a 'hoax' Credit: Gary Cameron/Reuters The biggest enemy facing U.S. Senate Republicans in raising the H-1B cap are Senate Republicans. The Senate’s two top Republican critics of temporary worker immigration, specifically the H-1B and L-1 visas, now hold the two most important immigration posts in the Senate. They are Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who heads the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, and his committee underling, Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who was appointed by Grassley on Thursday to head the immigration subcommittee. Grassley has been the Republican’s most tenacious and unwavering critic of the H-1B program and has tried to curb use by offshore outsourcers, in particular. Sessions, however, may emerge as the Senate’s most vociferous and fiery H-1B opponent. Sessions, late Thursday, issued a statement about his new role as immigration subcommittee chairman, and said the committee “will give voice to those whose voice has been shut out,” and that includes “the voice of the American IT workers who are being replaced with guest workers.” Sessions last week accused the tech industry of perpetuating a “hoax” by claiming there is a shortage of qualified U.S. tech workers. “The tech industry’s promotion of expanded temporary visas — such as the H-1B — and green cards is driven by its desire for cheap, young and immobile labor,” wrote Sessions, in a memo he sent last week to fellow lawmakers. Last summer, Sessions attacked Microsoft’s push for more H-1B visas as it laid off 18,000 employees. Now, as subcommittee chairman, Sessions will have the ability to conduct investigations and hold oversight hearings. That Senate memo was Sessions’ rebuttal to efforts by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Republican High-Tech Task Force, who is seeking an H-1B increase. The contrast between Sessions and Hatch on this issue could not be sharper. Hatch said, “Our high-skilled worker shortage has become a crisis.” Sessions, meanwhile, responded: “Not only is there no shortage of qualified Americans ready, able, and eager to fill these jobs, there is a huge surplus of Americans trained in these fields who are unable to find employment.” Hatch introduced legislation, with the support of some Democratic lawmakers, to raise the H-1B cap from 85,000 to 195,000. But the bill creates what may be an unlimited influx of foreign workers by eliminating a cap on people who earn an advanced degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field from a U.S. school. The IEEE-USA says the bill will destroy the U.S. tech workforce. Many people who graduate with STEM degrees don’t get jobs in the field. An Economic Policy Institute study last year found that the supply of STEM graduates exceeds by 2-to-1 the number of graduates who get hired. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe