Fraud Watch

H-1BUSTED: Trump Admin Unleashes First Major Probe Into Work Visa Fraud [WATCH]

posted by Hannity Staff - 7.08.26

The Trump Administration is opening a new front in its immigration crackdown, launching what Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito described as its first major investigation into alleged H-1B and PERM visa fraud.

Speaking Wednesday on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria, D’Esposito said the probe will examine alleged visa abuse, labor trafficking and schemes that he said displace American workers. He also announced that investigators have already begun issuing dozens of subpoenas.

“This is another example where fraud is fueling violent crime,” D’Esposito said.

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He argued that alleged fraud involving foreign labor is connected to broader criminal activity.

“Much of the visa and the human trafficking that we see when it comes to this foreign labor is tied to cartels, is tied to transnational gangs,” he said. “This is the work that we should be doing, not only to make America safe again, but to make America more affordable again.”

According to D’Esposito, the investigation is the latest step in the administration’s broader anti-fraud campaign and comes ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s fraud initiative event in Milwaukee later Wednesday.

The inspector general said the investigation extends beyond traditional labor jobs.

“This is not just people working in factories or actual labor,” he said. “These are people working in medical facilities and doctors’ offices that are actually putting people in harm’s way.”

An H-1B visa is a non-immigrant work visa that allows U.S. employers to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations for an initial three-year period, with the possibility of extending the visa to six years.

The technology sector accounts for roughly 60% to 70% of new H-1B applications in recent years. Consulting, professional services, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, medical research and higher education are also among the industries that make significant use of the program.

D’Esposito said California, New York and Illinois rank among the top five states for H-1B applicants.

He said the administration’s goal is to ensure “hardworking Americans are not seeing their jobs taken away by foreigners or people who are gaming the system or financially benefiting from bringing these individuals into America and putting them into jobs that, quite frankly, they are not qualified to do.”

The investigation comes weeks after a federal judge struck down the Trump Administration’s $100,000 fee requirement for employers seeking H-1B visas, ruling that the administration exceeded its authority by imposing what the court determined amounted to a tax that Congress had not authorized.

More over at Fox Business: