Fox News host criticises H-1B system as ‘cheap labour pipeline’, claims 70% of visa holders are Indian

Fox News host Will Cain has accused major corporations, especially tech giants, of exploiting the H-1B visa programme to hire cheaper foreign workers at the expense of American labour, igniting a fresh debate over the system. His remarks come as Trump’s Labor Department has launched nearly 200 investigations into alleged abuses of the visa programme.

He has described the programme as misleading, pointing to data he says contradicts claims of a domestic skills shortage.

“That’s a little hard to stomach when we hear we’re not talented or skilled enough, when you consider most are entry-or-junior level,” he said. Highlighting the dominance of applicants from Asia, he added, “70% of H-1B visa holders come from India, and another 10–15% from China, while 80% of H-1B approvals are for entry and junior-level jobs!”
Cain said the system functions as a corporate cost-saving tool, allowing companies to bypass American workers because employers can “hire foreign workers... cheaper than American workers.”

Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey has made similar criticisms, calling the programme “a program to try and replace American workers with slave labour that can’t ever escape.”

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has also announced plans to introduce legislation to phase out the programme, a move that could heavily impact Indian professionals, who constitute the majority of its recipients.