Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in 2024, said on Thursday that the H1-B visa program delivers “massive breaks” for cheap labor for tech companies, and those with the visas are essentially “indentured servants” for big tech.
The selection of Siriam Krishnan as a senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has sparked a widespread debate over the H1-B visa program, which conservatives have railed as “abusive” and designed to undercut wages of white-collar Americans.
Vivek Ramaswamy further enflamed the controversy when he claimed that America “has venerated mediocrity over excellence.”
Shanahan weighed into the debate, stating emphatically that the visa program has been abused to serve as corporate welfare, as it delivers “massive breaks” for cheap labor for big tech, and that these visa workers are “indentured servants” for big tech companies.
A Rasmussen Reports poll found that a majority of likely American voters believe that the country does not need more foreign H1-B visa workers to fill white-collar jobs.
Breitbart News has long reported the countless incidents where white-collar Americans are laid off and forced to train their foreign replacements.
She is no stranger to the world of big tech; she was a fellow at Stanford Law School’s CodeX, Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and used to be married to Sergey Brin, one of the two founders of Google.
“I take issue with some of the discourse I’ve read online today suggesting “lazy American culture” is the main driver for why we need to continue the H-1B program. Let’s be real: tech companies getting massive breaks on cheap labor at the expense of the American way of life is predatory,” Shanahan wrote.
She continued:
The system we’ve constructed with H-1B visas, whether we like it or not, incentivizes people to come here and serve as essentially indentured servants for Big Tech, taking on the tough, grueling jobs that few here in America are excited to perform at the current suppressed salaries.
In return, if you’re good at your job, you’re then put on a fast track to get a Green Card, which means legal status and the chance to bring your family over through chain migration.
Shanahan also took issue with the notion that companies have to bring in untold numbers of H1-B visa holders because America has a culture of pursuing their passions:
Just because our kids have the “right” to chase artistic dreams like music and painting, doesn’t mean we should bring in hundreds of thousands of foreign workers to displace them in math-intensive careers. It’s a two-fold issue: both our education and immigration policies are broken. Instead of tackling these complex issues head-on, Big Tech monopolies and tech VCs are looking for the fastest way to outcompete globally and become industry giants. It’s paid off—look at the insane valuations of these companies! We can’t entirely blame them for this approach—it’s been the industry norm for 40 years—but we can insist they seek out the tough, lasting solutions. No more temporary fixes.
Shanahan called for reform to prevent abuse to America’s immigration policies:
1. Immigration policy must be designed to protect the American way of life and its workforce. Singapore’s work permit program, which they designed in the ’90s, was built from this standard and could provide good inspiration. They use a modern-day designation system to manage the influx of labor across various sectors. ⁃ Employers face levies (essentially fees that employers have to pay for each foreign worker they hire. It’s a way to manage the number of foreign workers coming in by making it more expensive to employ them, encouraging companies to also look for talent locally). ⁃ There are Dependency Ceilings, which essentially limit the number of foreign workers based on the local workforce—this is KEY. ⁃ They impose restrictions on the countries from which workers can come. ⁃ Permits are diversified across industries to ensure balance.
2. Special economic zones are amazing and can transform local tech job markets. Hiring locally is going to be critical for making sure Americans are taking key tech industry roles AND able to support their families.
“If we really want to lift America to heights unseen in generations—not just talk about it, but actually do it—then we can’t continue to stick to outdated strategies that have harmed Americans. We owe it to ourselves and our communities to aim higher and do better,” Shanahan concluded.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
