‘American jobs are for American workers’: Trump administration raises pressure on companies hiring foreign workers

The Trump administration is turning greater attention toward employers that hire foreign workers.

The Trump administration is turning greater attention toward employers that hire foreign workers, with federal officials warning that companies could face scrutiny if they discriminate against Americans in favor of foreign labor.

Trump administration targets employers over foreign hiring. (REUTERS)

Anthony D’Esposito, inspector general at the US Department of Labor, highlighted the administration’s position in an X post on Saturday, writing: “American jobs are for American workers, not corporate schemes.” He shared a Breitbart report featuring comments from Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights.

Dhillon said the Justice Department has sharply increased its investigations into alleged employment discrimination against American workers.

What is changing for employers?

The comments signal a broader enforcement push focused on how companies recruit and select workers, including employers that use foreign-worker visa programs.

Dhillon said the Justice Department is working with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor on cases involving alleged discrimination against American workers. She argued that federal civil-rights laws can be used when employers discriminate based on nationality or national origin.

The administration’s position does not mean companies are automatically barred from hiring foreign workers when an American is available. Nor does federal law generally require every employer to prove that no qualified American worker exists before sponsoring an H-1B employee.

Instead, the focus is on whether employers have engaged in unlawful discriminatory practices while recruiting or hiring.

H-1B program faces wider scrutiny

Dhillon’s comments come as the Trump administration increases scrutiny of the H-1B program and other employment-based immigration channels.

She has previously criticized alleged abuses involving H-1B and PERM recruitment, including practices she says can involve misleading job applications, questionable recruitment methods and the use of foreign workers in circumstances that may disadvantage American applicants.

The Department of Labor has also continued to investigate potential violations involving foreign-worker programs. The administration has argued that stronger enforcement is necessary to prevent companies from using immigration programs as a way to undercut US workers.

For employers, that means the government’s attention is increasingly extending beyond whether a worker has the correct immigration status. Recruitment practices, job descriptions, hiring decisions and the treatment of American applicants can also come under scrutiny when officials suspect discrimination or fraud.