[ycombinator_acc]

Now, with the $100K fee which has turned H-1B workers into indentured servants, they could and will be used for that, sure. But prior to the EO, they had the freedom to leave the country and reenter whenever they'd like to, so long as they were employed or had an offer on hand. Getting laid off wasn't the end of the world. Travelling wasn't a huge risk. Switching employers was relatively stress-free. While still not on par with that of citizens, the leverage and the bargaining power was there, preventing the longer workweeks under worse conditions issue you're referring to. The concern trolls claiming otherwise had no concrete evidence to show for their claims.

I never said it's racist, unsure where you got that from, but it absolutely is scapegoating, when the issue isn't immigrants, who are powerless and cannot fight back, but the admin that's vilifying them while being the actual villain.

[genxy]

The power dynamic is definitely worse now, but it has existed ever since I first touched corporate tech in the late 90s (microsoft).

The problem isn't with immigrants specifically, but how they are used by these corporations to suppress wages and reduce the agency of labor. I don't want to see anyone hurt. But the way the H1Bs are being used harms everyone.

[ycombinator_acc]

I'm not convinced it existed before - not to the extent where it actually harmed people. But you know what will harm people for certain and a lot? "Ending H-1B ASAP". So why end it (let alone make it worse by making H-1B workers significantly more exploitable) instead of increasing the unemployment grace period, making travel less of a gamble, giving the worker more flexibility with work schedule and location?

[genxy]

I agree with all those things, AND preventing Amazon from firing 15-30k people and then turning around and hiring H1Bs. We are not talking about the same thing, enough that there isn't a disagreement.