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The Trump administration is escalating its crackdown on immigration-related fraud, launching its first major investigation into alleged H-1B and PERM visa abuse, labor trafficking, and the displacement of American workers, Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito told FOX Business on Wednesday.
D’Esposito announced the probe exclusively on “Mornings with Maria,” calling it the latest step in the administration’s expanding anti-fraud campaign ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s nationwide fraud initiative event in Milwaukee set for later in the day.
“This is another example where fraud is fueling violent crime,” he said. “Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labor is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs, and this is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again.”
D’Esposito said investigators have already begun to issue dozens of subpoenas in relation to the fraud investigation.
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An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant work visa that allows companies in the U.S. to hire highly-skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations for an initial period of three years, which can be extended to six years.
“This is not just people working in factories or actual labor,” D’Esposito said of the fraudsters. “These are people working in medical facilities and doctors’ offices that are actually putting people in harm’s way.”
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By far the industry most heavily utilizing H-1B visas is the tech industry, which accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of all the new applications in recent years. Other top industries include consulting and professional services, engineering and manufacturing, healthcare and medical research and higher education.
California, New York and Illinois are among the top five states for applicants for these visas, according to D’Esposito.
He said the Trump administration’s goal is to make sure hardworking Americans “are not seeing their jobs taken away by foreigners or people who are gaming the system or financially benefiting from bringing these individuals into America and putting them into jobs that, quite frankly, they are not qualified to do.”
Last month, a federal judge struck down President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee requirement for employers seeking H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority by imposing what amounted to a tax that only Congress can authorize or delegate.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
