With the election for President dominating the news, very few Americans realize that right now the United States Senate is considering a massive overhaul to our nation’s immigration system.
And, in true Washington fashion, the shocking truth is that it could pass without even a single vote in the United States Senate. You read that correctly: a major change to our immigration system is being considered under “unanimous consent” in the US Senate, which means this bill could pass without a vote ever occurring.Senator Rick Scott: Immigration overhaul proposal could hurt Florida’s economy.
It hasn’t yet passed because I am the only senator holding it up. I recently objected to passing a bill that could have long-term negative impacts on our immigration system and Florida’s economic future. Only in Washington could politicians try to sneak something like this through without Americans fully understanding the impact.
While 80 percent of H1-B visa holders are from India, a significant majority of EB visas go to skilled workers from over 100 different countries working in a wide range of industries. Eliminating the per-country cap would provide an unfair advantage to workers from backlogged countries – India and China.
Senator Rick Scott: Immigration overhaul proposal could hurt Florida’s economy.
Any reforms must do one thing above all others – protect American workers. Florida relies on and employs workers in a wide-range of industries including trade, tourism, transportation and agriculture.
Senator Rick Scott: Immigration overhaul proposal could hurt Florida’s economy.
The current iteration of S.386 is not the answer, but I’m committed to working with my colleagues on a solution that makes sense for Florida and allows more people to participate. If we don’t speak up now, the long-term effects of this quick fix could damage Florida’s economy and the diversity that we’ve worked so hard to protect.
Meanwhile, H-1B Lobby and Indian Immigration Voice throw another aggressive attack against Senator Rick Scott
The group is managed by immigrant Indian-Americans, and it has focused its fury on Scott since he blocked the Unanimous Consent passage of the S.386 bill on August 5. The bill is championed by the group and Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee, and it would dramatically expand the number of India’s contract workers who can get green cards and work permits in the United States.
Indian H-1B Lobby Slams Fla. Sen. Rick Scott as a ‘Chinese Puppet’, by Niel Munro
“Senator Rick Scott likes to say that he is an “America First” Conservative, but the truth is he is either a Chinese puppet, a milquetoast “Diversity” loving liberal or both – a liberal Chinese puppet in the U.S. Senate who is also an America hating liberal?” says the group’s message on their website, truthaboutrickscott.us.
Sen. Scott’s surprise action to block the bill won him applause among the growing number of Americans and would-be immigrants who fear S.386 will radically change U.S. immigration policy to favor outsourcing by Fortune 500 companies.
Indian H-1B Lobby Slams Fla. Sen. Rick Scott as a ‘Chinese Puppet’, by Niel Munro
But once Scott blocked the bill — partly to protect the immigration of Spanish-language speakers — the Immigration Voice group quickly posted a tweet of Scott in a KKK hood.
The Indian group’s hard edged tactics are unsurprising because the group also spent much of 2020 claiming Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is a “racist” and an “ethnic cleanser for opposing S.386. This August, Durbin dropped his opposition, and some of the group’s members claimed their tactics successfully pressured him to change his mind.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott
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Immigration Voice attacks don’t matter! Rick Scott Torpedoes Mike Lee’s S.386 H-1B Outsourcing Bill!
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., announced his strong opposition to Utah Sen. Mike Lee’s S.386 outsourcing bill, likely sinking the Utah Republican’s bill for the rest of the year.
Lee’s S.386 bill aids the tech industry and visa workers from India and China “at the expense of American workers, highly skilled immigrants, workers from Latin America and Europe, as well as Florida’s most important industries,” Scott wrote in the August 31 op-ed in the Miami Herald.
“Rick Scott Torpedoes Mike Lee’s S.386 H-1B Outsourcing Bill” by Niel Munro
Scott’s op-ed shows that Lee’s S.386 will be blocked until at least election day, said Kevin Lynn, founder of U.S. Tech Workers, which advocates for U.S. college graduates. “That’s a very solid ‘No’ on S.386 … It will be a cold day in a place beneath our feet when he will change his mind,” Lynn added.
“Rick Scott Torpedoes Mike Lee’s S.386 H-1B Outsourcing Bill” by Niel Munro
“It is a well-considered objection,” said Bob Heath, a Florida-based technology professional who is also an expert on H-1B fraud. The bill’s Fortune 500 lobbyists “passed it through the House and tried to get it through the Senate with no hearing – no expert witnesses, no public debates, without anyone have to go on the record for or against,” said Heath. He created the H1Bfacts.com database that is widely used to count visa worker jobs in each politicians’ district.
“Rick Scott Torpedoes Mike Lee’s S.386 H-1B Outsourcing Bill” by Niel Munro
White-Collar Workers of America 