US Vice President JD Vance has reiterated his focus on protecting American jobs, linking his support for reindustrialization to employment opportunities for US workers, amid the Trump administration’s latest crackdown on employment-based immigration and scrutiny of foreign-worker programs.
The administration also announced restrictions affecting green-card processing through the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program for eight companies. The remark comes as the administration steps up efforts to scrutinize how companies hire foreign workers and sponsor them for permanent residency. The latest measures have brought employment-based immigration, including the H-1B visa program and employer-sponsored green cards , into sharper focus. The administration’s position links its immigration enforcement drive to concerns about American workers’ employment prospects, wages and access to jobs. Vance has argued that employers should not lay off US employees while relying on foreign-worker programs to fill positions. PERM is generally a required step for employers seeking to sponsor eligible foreign workers for employment-based green cards. Officials have alleged misuse of foreign-worker programs, but the investigations do not establish that every institution under scrutiny has violated immigration rules.
In a press conference on October 8, Vance criticized tech companies over their use of foreign workers and raised concerns about the relationship between temporary work visas and employment-based permanent residency. The administration has also announced investigations into nine universities over their use of J-1 exchange-visitor visas , which cover certain international scholars, researchers and exchange-program participants.
“Part of the reason I care so much about reindustrialization, is because I care about American jobs,” Vance said in a post on X. The Labor Department said it would not accept new PERM applications involving these companies or process pending applications.
