Oklahoma governor proposes employing migrants willing to work for low wages to fill critical job gaps

09/05/2024 / By Laura Harris

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has proposed to match low-wage migrants with local employers in sectors like nursing, engineering, accounting, construction and education to fill vacancies in these critical industries.

This comes after the release of the “Oklahoma State Work Permits and Visas Task Force 2024” report on Aug. 26. The report encourages a welcoming stance toward legal migrants and those with contested legal statuses, including asylum applicants, temporary visa holders and economic migrants brought in under the parole programs of the administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The report includes key recommendations, including expansion of access to occupational licenses for certain noncitizens, including students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, commonly known as “Dreamers.”

Additionally, the task force called for increased use of foreign graduates in white-collar jobs through programs like the J-1 visas (research scholars, professors, cultural exchange visitors) and H-1B visas (work visas for foreign workers in specialty jobs) to reduce salaries by increasing competition for positions that Oklahoma graduates would traditionally fill.

The report suggests collaboration with community organizations, educational institutions and other agencies to expand the number of cap-exempt H-1B visas in high-demand sectors and promote J-1 intracompany exchange programs between Oklahoma and international locations.

The plan would benefit local universities, which might see an influx of migrant students paying tuition in exchange for temporary work permits. Another recommendation from the panel is to grant driver’s licenses to migrants. (Related: Wall Street admits that ALL new jobs in past year went to illegal aliens.)

In line with these recommendations, Stitt posted on Aug. 26 about his plan to fill blue-collar and white-collar positions with low-wage migrant workers.

“I’m grateful for the work the Oklahoma Work Permit and Visa Task Force put into their report. They’ve addressed the real issues presented by the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policy,” Stitt posted in a series of posts on his X account.

“I want to create opportunities to bring the best talent to Oklahoma,” Stitt continued. “We need the best nurses, the best engineers, the best accountants, the best construction workers and the best teachers. If they’re willing to come here and work hard, let’s match the employer with the employee. I hope the legislature will pursue the recommendations that reflect that intention.”

Critics brand Stitt as “anti-American”

The report highlights the benefits of attracting skilled foreign workers, but it does not propose any measures to help Oklahoma businesses hire Americans from other states.

Critics think the plan prioritizes foreign workers over American citizens. “Have you considered the possibility that the best talent – the best nurses, engineers, accountants, construction workers and teachers – are American citizens already in Oklahoma? That these jobs should go to Oklahomans and not foreigners? Has that occurred to you?” one X user replied to one of the governor’s post.

Other critics argue that Americans are capable of filling these roles without the need for foreign labor.

“Americans can do every job you mention and we don’t need people outside of this country to fill those positions. Corporations are loving cheap labor to outsource American jobs,” another X user wrote.

The criticism extended to concerns about broader immigration policies, with some users expressing frustration over the perceived lack of effort to address issues facing American workers caused by the influx of migrants willing to work for far less than what American laborers are worth.

“As long as the border remains open, how can you make any deals that mitigate that problem?” asked one X user. “Until the border is closed, just don’t do it. We don’t want it.”

The backlash was not limited to individual voices. NumbersUSA, a national immigration reform group, also condemned the proposal on their official X account: “Gov. Stitt’s attempt to turn Oklahoma into a sanctuary state mirrors [Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford’s] attempt via the Senate border bill to turn the entire country into a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.”

Visit OpenBorders.news for similar stories.

Watch Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies discussing the prospect of America accepting Palestinian refugees below.

This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.