Anti H-1B advertisements at railways stations, trains in Silicon Valley
An anti-immigrant organization has installed advertisements against H-1B visa-holders at railways stations and on trains in California's San Francisco Bay Area, where Silicon Valley, the home to world's top tech companies, is located. The ads say: "US tech workers, your companies think you are expensive, undeserving and expendable," urging Congress to "fix H-1B law so companies must seek and hire US workers." Here's more.
Who put up the ads?
The Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), a Washington-based organization, has paid the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) $80,000 to run the ads at its railway stations and on trains for a month, reported Hindustan Times. The organization has been called anti-immigrant by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, a monitoring-body that checks hate-groups.
Why spew hate on H-1B workers?
Claiming that foreign workers make for about 70% of Silicon Valley's tech workforce, PFIR aims to unite US techies, pressurize the federal government for visa program reform and ensure companies hire US workers first, before recruiting abroad. The campaign's goal isn't to discriminate against H-1B visa-holders but protect American tech workers from exploitation in the tech industry, Kevin Lynn, PFIR executive director, said.
BART ashamed by the ads but can't pull them down
PFIR's advertising campaign hasn't gone down well with Twitter users, who have slammed it for spreading hate. Even BART was embarrassed and clarified in a statement that it didn't "endorse the ads" but couldn't pull them down as they comply "with free speech laws that allow advertisers to express a point of view". "Court rulings reinforce that we can't deny the ads," it added.
Awful, anti-immigrant, lash out Twitter users
In Trump regime, the ads another blow for H-1B visa-holders
Though PFIR claims the campaign advocates labor reform and doesn't target Indians, the maximum H-1B population in America, the ads have come when Trump is tightening the rules of H-1B visa processing. After introducing a slew of legislations to cut down on H-1B immigrants, the US now plans to deny work authorization to H-1B spouses.
