We need a Federal Government that is efficient and effective in delivering its Constitutional Missions. The American Federal Government process has begun to accrue great inefficiencies with the growth of legislation and administrative interpretation of statute over the last 250 years. There are seven axioms of what normally is created by Federal Government attempts to solve problems through legislation and executive branch actions:
- Unintended consequences
- Even more of the same problem
- High Prices
- Poor Selection
- Never trust the name of legislation, especially nice sounding names, nor their descriptions of intended effect
- Grows government
- The creation of a racket that perverts the well-intended idea into a cabal of camp followers who milk the system and enable the unrestrained growth of all the axioms
Let’s be clear up front. Legal immigration is very very good for America. Secure borders are also very good for the country and a basic Constitutional mission of the Federal Government. Both can be had, but even legal migration has been gamified and in some cases receives red flags from all seven axioms.
The H-1B Program is a case in point. H-1B was created by the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 which was included in the "Omnibus Appropriations Act for FY 2005 (Public Law 108-447)”. This is an immediate red flag for Axiom 5 – never ever trust the word "Omnibus” – it is swamp speak for gargantuan largesse.
The purpose of the H-1B program is that it, " allows companies and other employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.” Sounds nice – another red flag for Axiom 5.
H-1B gives the Department of Labor the lead for determining occupation shortages (a red flag for Axiom 6). The 2004 update chastens potential employers with the following:
"Such employer must attest on the Labor Condition Application (LCA) that it will:
-
- Not displace any similarly employed U.S. worker within the period beginning 90 days before and ending 90 days after the date of petition filing;
- Not place any H-1B worker with any other employer or at another employer’s worksite unless first making a good faith inquiry of the employer at the secondary worksite and obtaining assurances that the other employer will not displace a U.S. worker within 90 days before or after placement of the H-1B worker;
- Take good faith steps to recruit a U.S. worker for the position for which the H-1B worker is sought; and to offer the job to any U.S. worker who applies for the job and is equally or better qualified.”
Anytime there is a chastening of industry, that is a partial red flag for Axioms 1 through 4 and a firm Red Flag for Axiom 7. Who is independently verifying and validating (V&V) the above measures are carried out? No one, except for the cabal that benefits from this mess that has now been created. Putting the Department of Labor in charge of determining Labor shortages with no independent V&V is like putting techno-bureaucrats at NIH with vaccine patents in charge of determining the need for vaccines.
Below is a basic list of the different Employment Based Visa Categories from State Department (relevant categories highlighted in yellow – it is more than H-1B). Complex charts are red flags for Axiom’s 6 and 7.
There’s one group that these charts are designed for: Lawyers. There’s the swamp, the muck at the bottom of the swamp, 10 feet of accumulated, decayed muck, and then there are lawyers. In this case they are Immigration Lawyers. And Lawyers begat Lawyers, a double screaming red flag for Axiom 7.
The H-1B system is a never-ending Disneyland of racket opportunities for Immigration Lawyers and employers seeking to replace Americans with lesser paid immigrant arrivals abusing the letter and spirit of H-1B (who’s doing the auditable V&V of the DOL assertions of shortages?).
One group bemoans the shortage of Immigration Lawyers. This is the problem with DEI education – it makes Lawyers mathematically illiterate except for counting retainer fees. Of course, there will be a shortage of Immigration Lawyers (the numerator) if the illegal alien population (the denominator) explodes. America needs access to the best qualified and extraordinary immigrants in an expedited fashion, but there is immense racketeering in the current H-1B racket.
COL (Ret) Mills has had an immense impact on a number of significant national security events over the last 40 years, from the Cold War, Peace Dividend, War on Terror, World in Chaos, and the era of Great Power Competition. He has served multiple combat tours. This service has been both in uniform and as a senior civilian for the Department of Defense and included service with the National Security Council at the White House across two Administrations. He has served in joint, conventional, and special operations units and as a senior staff planner on the Chairman’s Joint Staff
John is a part of the Center for Security Policy, Committee on Present Danger China, Spectrum consulting group, an adjunct Professor for a major University’s Graduate Program, founder of the National Election Integrity Association, and a regular Op-Ed writer for the Epoch Times and Daily Middle East.
Follow him on X, Substack, Truth Social, and Gettr.
