US Conservatives Renew Attack on H-1B Visa as Fox Host Claims 70% Holders Are Indian

A fresh political storm has erupted in the United States after Fox News host Will Cain launched a pointed attack on the H-1B visa programme, accusing major employers — especially technology companies — of using it to secure “cheap foreign labour” at the expense of American workers. Cain’s comments have since triggered a broader conservative push to scrutinise and possibly dismantle the long-standing visa system relied on heavily by Indian professionals.

Cain’s remarks came during a widely shared segment in which he questioned the premise that the US lacks enough skilled workers for high-tech roles. According to him, the data tells a different story: nearly 70% of all H-1B visa holders are from India, while another 10–15% come from China. He highlighted that roughly 80% of approvals are for entry-level or junior roles, arguing that these figures contradict claims that the US workforce lacks specialised talent.

The Fox News host said the programme primarily benefits large corporations that can legally hire foreign employees at lower wages, bypassing equivalent domestic candidates. He framed the H-1B system as a form of labour arbitrage that suppresses wages and narrows opportunities for Americans.

His criticism aligns with comments from Silicon Valley entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, who recently described the H-1B system as “a programme to replace American workers with labour that can’t escape,” fuelling a narrative that the visa is being misused to create a cheaper, less mobile workforce.

The controversy escalated further when Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene pledged to introduce legislation aimed at phasing out the H-1B visa entirely. Greene accused technology firms, AI companies, healthcare institutions and other industries of exploiting the programme to “cut out American workers,” while insisting that Americans possess world-class skills that should be prioritised.

This renewed scrutiny comes as the Trump administration’s Labour Department has opened nearly 200 investigations into alleged H-1B abuses, signalling an aggressive shift in enforcement. Officials say they are examining wage structures, hiring patterns and potential regulatory violations across multiple industries.

The political tension intensified after a televised interview between President Donald Trump and Fox News host Laura Ingraham. Trump defended the H-1B programme as a means to attract high-skilled workers, but Ingraham sharply countered that increasing foreign labour inflow undermines efforts to raise American wages. Trump’s response — “No, you don’t” — when challenged on wage impacts drew criticism from conservative commentators who felt he wasn’t firm enough on immigration.

Influential right-wing voices, including Benny Johnson and Steve Bannon, have since amplified calls to ban or severely restrict the H-1B system, framing it as a battle for economic nationalism and the protection of American jobs.

As political forces on the Right harden their stance and labour investigations intensify, the future of the H-1B visa — long a backbone of Indian participation in the US workforce — faces its most significant challenge in years.