Trump administration announces new H-1B visa restrictions
06 October 2020
The Trump administration announced new, long-anticipated restrictions for the H-1B high-skilled visa program on Tuesday, some of which will go into effect this week.
Why it matters: The rules are "far and away, one of the most significant reforms made to the H-1B program in the past 20 years," Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella told reporters on a call.
Between the lines: The rule from the Department of Labor, which will go into effect Thursday morning, will change how much employers will be required to pay foreign workers they hire on H-1B visas, forcing them to pay workers more.
- The DHS rule will narrow the kinds of jobs or "specialty occupations" H-1B visa holders can be hired for and increase scrutiny for third-party outsourcing companies that rely on hiring H-1B workers.
- DHS said in a release that its rule will require "companies to make 'real' offers to 'real employees,' by closing loopholes and preventing the displacement of the American worker." This rule will go into effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
What they're saying: "The DHS rule will affect over one-third of the H1-B petitions," Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli told reporters. "I cannot overstate how big a deal this is."
What to watch: The administration is likely to face lawsuits over the way they're rolling out these new regulations. "Given the benefit to Americans, we're willing to live with that risk. Obviously the president is," a senior administration official said.
Go deeper: Axios' Deep Dive: Skilled Immigration
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.