WASHINGTON — In the waning hours of this year's Congress, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has launched an effort to allow into the United States up to 100,000 additional foreign workers annually in the high-tech and nursing fields.
The government has allotted 65,100 such visas for this year.
Months after Congress failed to agree on a broad immigration overhaul, the Texas Republican insisted Wednesday that his move is necessary because current H-1B visa caps are harming U.S. employers unable to find a skilled work force at home.
"Unfortunately, industries are dying on the vines for lack of a qualified work force," Cornyn said. "So this is very important for industries ranging from nurses to high-tech industries."
Alarmed by Cornyn's effort, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which opposes immigration increases, has alerted its members.
"This is a great threat to U.S. workers, who can only watch as their jobs are given away to cheaper, imported labor," FAIR said, urging its members to contact their lawmakers. "And for those high-skilled U.S. workers whose jobs aren't taken by foreign workers, their wages are being depressed by the influx of foreign workers who compete with them."
Cornyn's proposal would also exempt a visa holder's family members from visa limits.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., estimated that Cornyn's plan could add as many as 700,000 visas annually. He said he would block the proposal, which requires unanimous consent to get a Senate vote.
"This bill is far larger than it appears," Sessions said. "We need to do this as part of an overall reform of immigration."
The Cornyn plan, he said, represents "an ad hoc fix to solve one group's problems."
Cornyn held out hope that he could overcome objections.