Two Democratic lawmakers have criticised the Trump administration’s decision to suspend Microsoft, Adobe and other technology companies from participating in a key employment-based green card programme, warning that the move could disrupt legal immigration pathways for skilled foreign professionals working in the United States.
Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Suzan DelBene, both from Washington state, said on Thursday that the restrictions could undermine innovation, create uncertainty for workers and their families, and affect the competitiveness of American businesses.
The administration’s action concerns the Permanent Labour Certification programme, commonly known as PERM, which employers use to sponsor eligible foreign workers for certain employment-based green cards.
Jayapal, the top Democrat on the House immigration subcommittee, said the decision was another attempt to restrict legal immigration. Representing a Seattle-area congressional district with tens of thousands of Microsoft workers, she highlighted her own experience as a former H-1B visa holder.
“The PERM program is the first step toward an employment-based green card for countless workers who want to contribute to this country,” Jayapal said, adding that the process includes safeguards intended to benefit the economy without harming American workers.
“You don’t fix a broken immigration system by taking a hammer to legal immigration,” she said.
Jayapal also argued that targeting Microsoft and the PERM programme would weaken the country’s ability to innovate, while noting the company’s longstanding support for immigration reform.
DelBene described the move as an attack on current H-1B visa holders already living in the United States. She said abruptly restricting the green card pathway for skilled workers at selected American companies was a “biased and punitive misuse of the law”.
DelBene also questioned whether the action would address alleged abuses of the H-1B visa programme, arguing that it would instead add uncertainty to the economy and undermine innovation and competitiveness.
The H-1B programme allows US employers to recruit foreign professionals for specialised occupations, including technology, engineering and scientific research.
The suspension does not automatically cancel existing H-1B visas. Its immediate implications concern employers’ access to the labour certification process used in certain permanent residency applications.
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