Florida governor doubles down on H-1B crackdown, calls for jobs to be protected for young Americans

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sunday (IST) called for an end to programmes that bring foreign workers to the United States, saying they come at the expense of young Americans.

“Get rid of these programs that bring in foreign workers at the expense of young Americans,” DeSantis wrote on X.

He added that Florida had stopped H-1B hiring at its universities and urged other states to do the same.

“We stopped H-1Bs at our universities and other states should follow suit,” he said.

DeSantis was responding to a post by Ron Hira, a professor at Howard University, who said the technology job market was “collapsing for young grads” while universities continued to lobby for programmes such as Optional Practical Training and H-1B visas.

Hira’s post cited The Chronicle, which reported that four-year institutions had sent 53,000 students into the field in the past year. It also quoted a Reddit user questioning why students should pursue computer science degrees when the job market was facing a slowdown, along with AI, offshoring and concerns about the future of technology jobs.

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Florida’s H-1B pause

In January, a push by DeSantis to pause the hiring of international faculty and staff through H-1B visas moved forward in Florida, CBS reported.

The state university system’s Board of Governors set up a proposed moratorium for final approval. The measure would direct university boards of trustees to not utilize the H-1B program in its personnel program to hire any new employees through January 5, 2027.

Board of Governors Chairman Alan Levine said the pause would not stop other visa programmes.

“It’s just this one program, where we need to gather more information and then make an informed policy decision,” Levine said.

Officials said they would study the cost of the H-1B programme and how Florida universities use it. Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said one concern was whether employers had used the programme to hire workers “paid less than market rate.”

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DeSantis had earlier described many H-1B hires as “cheap labor” and questioned why universities could not hire Florida residents or Americans instead.

The proposal has faced opposition. Student representative Carson Dale warned that it could hurt Florida’s ability to compete for top candidates, while Florida Atlantic University professor Kimberly Dunn said H-1B workers contribute to the state’s “health, safety and economic success.”

The H-1B visas were created in 1990 to attract technically skilled workers. They are valid for three years and can be extended for another three years.