Goodlatte Statement on Obama Administration’s New H-2B Regulations

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the statement below regarding the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor’s new regulations for the H-2B seasonal guestworker program. “The Obama Administration had the opportunity to issue user-friendly regulations for the thousands of American employers who use the H-2B program, but it knowingly failed to do so. The new regulations issued by the Obama Administration are overly burdensome for the small and seasonal businesses that play by the rules and use this guestworker program to hire a legal workforce. By keeping the Department of Labor’s heavy hand in the process, employers will face more red tape and higher costs when using the program. The House Judiciary Committee is closely examining this issue and the impact of the Administration’s new regulations.”Background: Earlier this month, Chairman Goodlatte sent a letter signed by 36 Members of Congress to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson asking that the Obama Administration’s new regulations for the H-2B seasonal guestworker program be user-friendly for the thousands of businesses that rely on the program and protect American workers. The H-2B guestworker program is used by American employers to hire foreign workers for temporary and seasonal work, such as forestry, seafood processing, and other industries. On March 4, 2015, a federal district court ruled that the Department of Labor lacked the authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to issue regulations for the H-2B program. The new regulations can be found here and here.