Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) appeared on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" to detail her investigation into North Texas H-1B visa fraud. 

In May, Van Duyne partnered with her fellow North Texas Republican reps Pat Fallon (TX-04), Ronny Jackson (TX-13), and Brandon Gill (TX-26) to send a letter to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Acting Department of Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging that the administration "conduct a coordinated, interagency investigation into reported H-1B fraud activities in North Texas."

Van Duyne told host Cheryl Casone that the administration has been "amazingly responsive."

Van Duyne continued:

"I want to thank Secretary Markwayne Mullin, because he immediately got back to us with a very detailed letter on what the administration is doing to take this seriously. Whether its seizing advanced technology they're also working within other agencies to make sure it is detected. We are coming up with ways with being able to codify what this administration is doing. But they are investigating it. It is not a one off. This is a broad investigation."

In June, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's effort to extract a $100,000 fee from companies for each H-1B application submitted. The judge deemed the fee was an unlawful “tax” that required congressional approval. This fee proposal has also become the focus of several lawsuits by labor unions, research universities, the tech industry, and certain states that want to keep this pipeline of purportedly "high-skilled" foreign workers flowing, despite evidence that the influx undermines the American worker and undercuts wages for all Americans.

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On August 24, DHS Secretary Mullin submitted to the Federal Register a new fee proposal of $103,265 for all new H-1B visa applications. The proposal went live on August 25, and it is currently undergoing a 30-day public-comment period. So, once again, the Trump administration is using all the available tools in the toolbox to reform the H-1B visa program so that it benefits Americans first and does not rob the American taxpayer.

Van Duyne also referenced a lengthy conversation she had with the U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito.

Van Duyne said:

"I was able to spend a little bit of time with Department of Labor Inspector General D'Esposito as well. He was at the convention this past week, and we talked about it. And he gave me some more examples in North Texas where they are finding, they are going into these buildings that have hundreds of supposed H-1B employees, and they're empty buildings. 

"This is a continuation. I don't think anybody recognized how bad this program was being abused. But this administration is doing it, we're continuing to push them, and we're also looking at legislation to make sure we are codifying it."

Casone seemed surprised at this discovery of a new iteration of the fraud, where companies in receipt of H-1B visas used them not just for jobs that didn't actually exist, but for low-level employment which is not supposed to fall under the purview of the H-1B visa program.

Van Duyne responded to this:

"Yes. And a lot of this is being funded by taxpayer dollars. And it is, it is undermining American workers, and it is undercutting potential wages as well. And we're not seeing this in the high-skills areas, which is what this visa program was conducted, created to enhance was to get people that we didn't have skilled labor for in the U.S. It's not for that. You're seeing this for every single level of employee. And these are businesses who are making a ton of money by undercutting American workers and undercutting American wages. It also gives more people an excuse to come into our country legally, that should not be here because they do not have a method of being able to be actually self-sustaining and self-sufficient." 

WATCH:

Fox News’ Cheryl Casone pressed Rep. Beth Van Duyne on alleged H-1B fraud in North Texas, where Van Duyne says investigators are finding “ghost” workplaces—addresses supposedly employing hundreds of visa workers that appear virtually empty. Van Duyne says she and fellow Texas lawmakers pushed the Trump administration for a coordinated federal investigation, arguing the abuse is far broader than a few isolated cases.

As my RedState colleague streiff reported, the U.S. Department of Labor OIG Anthony D'Esposito has been busy investigating this H-1B visa fraud, and no doubt related some of this to Rep. Van Duyne. 

On September 9, D'Esposito appeared on a podcast to discuss why the Department of Labor has partnered on this fraud mitigation, and the results of their targeted investigation. 

D'Esposito said:

"You think about the epitome of the American Dream. Right? Why my grandparents, why people's great grandparents came to this nation. It was for a better way of life, better quality of life, better education, a better future for their children and grandchildren. And also fair paying jobs, fair wages, being able to put a hard day's work in and get a good dollar. The fact is is that these foreign labor visas, especially when they're abused and extorted, are taking good-paying, fair wages away from the American people. And that's why Acting Secretary Sonderling and I, under President Trump's leadership, have made this a priority. You know, we've been criticized over the last couple of months."

D'Esposito talked about how good investigations take time, but their efforts are now bearing fruit.

"You know, before I was a Inspector General, I served in Congress. But I spent my adult life being an investigator in the NYPD. You know, I think we were together when I announced the initial investigation, and like 24 hours later people were basically banging my door down wanting to know why nothing was done. 

"Good investigations don't come over 24 hours. We've issued dozens of subpoenas, we're conducting search warrants, I mean, the investigations are real. And then today, we announced that two companies: Cloudera and Cognizant, their application process has been suspended. I mean, it's a huge deal and I think that the American people are finally seeing that we're for real."

WATCH:

While the Trump administration is doing what is within its executive and agency regulatory powers to target and combat H-1B visa fraud, it will require Congress and the Department of State to change the laws surrounding this H-1B visa program in order to permanently codify these efforts. As more is uncovered, it appears this fraud is widespread and needs to be addressed and removed if we are to preserve the best jobs and the best salaries for Americans.