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Dear {name}:
As we gather this Labor Day to honor the contributions of American workers, we must honestly assess both the challenges and opportunities facing our labor force. Careful policy analysis and advocacy of the past year inform me that several critical themes have emerged that paint a complex picture of American labor in 2025—one that calls for both concern and hope, vigilance and action.
We have consistently highlighted the negative consequences immigration policy has had on American workers' opportunities. Our research has revealed that while headline job numbers often paint a rosy picture, the deeper reality shows American-born workers losing ground to foreign-born workers across multiple sectors.
The tech sector provides a particularly stark example of these dynamics. A year ago, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Ben Riesett, a recent computer science graduate from the Catholic University of America and he told them that "the truth is, when you start looking right now, it's impossible to get hired." A year later, things are just as bad if not worse. The unemployment rate among recent computer science majors sits at 6.1%—one of the highest among all surveyed majors. Meanwhile, 16.5% are stuck in jobs that don't require a college degree, according to U.S. Census data analyzed by the New York Federal Reserve. These represent more than statistics—they're dreams deferred and futures uncertain.
Given these ongoing challenges, it's encouraging to see some positive developments in the current administration's approach to protecting American workers. Many of the appointees currently working at the White House and across the alphabet soup of federal agencies had been planning and preparing a year or more before President Trump took office in his second administration on how to execute on his vision. They hit the ground running.
For instance, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon has been taking an active interest in country of origin discrimination cases. Her department seized upon a complaint of advertising discrimination by one of our activists and secured a settlement agreement from Epik Solutions. Having personally dealt with Immigration Employment Rights Division, the group that initially handles these complaints, I can tell you this is a monumental shift in priorities from the prior administrations.
However, I don't believe those at the Department of Labor (DOL) had the benefit of much preparation time before joining the administration and have been slow to implement changes that prioritize the needs of American workers. Our meetings with agency officials have been positive and productive. It was great to see Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer announce the creation of a new Office of Immigration Policy (OIP). And we should be encouraged by all of this.
But much more needs to be done. This is particularly true in the area of rule making to limit the amount of damage programs like the H-1B visa are doing to our workers. American workers need the Trump administration to put in place a firewall of policy and personnel that will protect them from the globalists.
On this Labor Day, we demand concrete policy changes that prioritize American workers in immigration decisions, enforce labor laws consistently, and structure trade relationships to benefit domestic employment. Most fundamentally, Policy makers must stop viewing America as an “economic zone.” We are sovereign country whose institutions must prioritize the human flourishing of our citizenry and not maximizing abstract metrics that may bear little relationship to most Americans' shared experiences and values.
Onward,
Kevin Lynn
Executive Director, Institute for Sound Public Policy
Founder, U.S. Tech Workers |
