Patrick Thibodeau

This is a bad jobs report. -- Only 35K jobs -- 24% -- came from private industries. -- 76% of the jobs are from healthcare and government, so mostly public-spending related. Upshot: Businesses are still hiring, but that hiring is weak.

The ultimate goal of @elonmusk is to convert the U.S. Capitol and White House into data centers. At this point, I don't know if I'd oppose it.

Trump's EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas put out a statement suggesting she may go after #H1B abuse content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEEO…

House hearing on #cybersecurity workforce is off to a good start: U.S. Rep: Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, "Holding a hearing on cyber workforce while letting @elonmusk root around in government systems is like worrying someone might break in through the back door of your home while swinging the front door wide open. "

@matloff You're right. I stand corrected there. The problem was well-known before 2000. That was around the time I started covering this issue, and recall getting some phone calls of people yelling at me .....

Not much there on H-1B, just "So when we see an immigrant we see, not a potential welfare case, but someone with an intellect, someone with the potential to help one of our companies. The chairman of our board of directors and four of Cypress’s 10 executive vice presidents are immigrants." As usual, this ignores the fact that the Best and the Brightest form only a small proportion of the H-1B/GC population; policy should be restricted to the B & B. BTW, the abuses were well known long before this year 2000 essay. E.g. I've mentioned the 60 Minutes piece in 1993, and major criticism of H-1B by Clinton's Sec. of Labor, Robert Reich, around that time. But Rodgers, as a fervent Ayn Rand fan, would dismiss those as collateral damage. I say unnecessary damage.

Regarding #H1B: One of the best papers on the psychology and politics of Silicon Valley was written 25 years ago by T.J. Rodgers, founder of Cypress Semiconductor, titled "Why Silicon Valley Should Not Normalize Relations with Washington, D.C." The paper is a strong argument for maintaining Silicon Valley's independence from political interference and government regulation. It also emphasizes that the Valley thrives because it attracts immigrants globally. Elon Musk shares a similar approach, advocating for minimal government involvement. This paper blueprints the goal's of Trump's tech backers. But it could not have anticipated the backlash over H-1B abuses. cato.org/white-paper/wh…

The root of Trump's anger over the #H1B program. A brief history. I know how this happened and have a good idea how it will be resolved. #h1bvisa @elonmusk @StephenM @matloff @ronhira @CIS_org techtarget.com/searchhrsoftwa…

Glad to see all this interest in my article, tinyurl.com/s5vbwjkm. An interesting question to ask is, what would the tech industry say about my proposed reforms if they were asked to comment (not likely)? Here are my guesses. 1. Prioritize H-1B work visa awards by offered salary. The tech industry would be in full agreement here, as they know they would win the competition with the "body shops." 2. Same priority for green cards, and give the benefciaries GCs immediately upon approval. Normalize by median wage per occupation and region. They would not like this, as it takes away their ability to impose indentured servitude, and reduces their ability to underpay the foreign workers. 3. Liberalize the National Interest Waiver, under which highly talented foreigners can self-sponsor for green cards. See point about indentured servitude above.

This Washington Post op-ed proposal for an #H1B auction for wages isn't breaking truly new ground IMHO. Trump proposed something similar in 2020: A wage-based distribution system for visas. But he was too late finalizing it; after losing the election, Biden killed the #h1bvisa reform. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/…

If automated customer service is an indicator of the value of AI, the AI market is definitely in a bubble. #screamingfrustration @wrongdata #incorrect

What’s next for high-skilled immigration and #H1B in 2025? Expect a fight in Congress over H1B visas vs. employment-based green cards. Trump has expressed interest in granting permanent residency to U.S. university grads. Unlike H-1B workers, green card holders aren’t tied to their employers or at risk of deportation if they lose their jobs. But this is where Republicans may fracture. Trump’s anti-immigration allies in Congress could block reform unless bipartisan agreement is reached on high-skilled immigration.

@ElonMusk may have enormous influence with Trump but he won’t override decades of bipartisan criticism of the H-1B program in Congress. The evidence of H1B abuse is overwhelming. Many journalists, including myself, have documented it extensively. I helped 60 Minutes connect with IT workers for a segment that aired during the early days of Trump’s first term. cbsnews.com/video/60-minut… More ...

Lost in the latest #H1B debate is that Trump had bipartisan support in Congress for some of his H-1B reforms. Senators Chuck Grassley (R) and Dick Durbin (D) backed Trump’s merit-based approach over the random lottery. Grassley said, 'The visa lottery system makes this problem worse by rewarding visas randomly, instead of prioritizing foreign workers with greater experience, skill, and qualifications.' But for Trump to reform employment-based immigration, he’d need Congress. Even if his wage-based H-1B distribution plan had succeeded, it likely would have been tied up in court by the tech industry, arguing it exceeded the law. Grassely is expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year, which has oversight over immigration. Durbin will likely be the ranking member. More …

Trump's H-1B reform prioritized the annual allocation of 85,000 visas for advanced degree holders, high wages, and valuable skills—proposed in 2020, just months before he lost re-election. Biden scrapped it. Now, Trump’s recent praise of the H-1B program as 'great' is antithetical to his past statements and suggests he confused it with low-wage visa programs for seasonal workers, like groundskeeping. In 2016, Trump had Disney IT workers who trained their H-1B replacements speak at his rallies. Stephen Miller, Trump’s top immigration advisor, met Southern California Edison IT workers who did the same. I know this because I broke the Edison outsourcing story and connected Miller with the IT workers. #h1b @elonmusk More …

Trump's stance on E-Verify reflects consideration of the practical realities of undocumented immigration. He may not support a nation-wide mandate of E-Verify. #everify techtarget.com/searchhrsoftwa…

Will Elon Musk calm Trump's #h1b opposition? techtarget.com/searchhrsoftwa…

Ex-#EEOC commissioner #KeithSonderling argues that a properly designed AI systems may be more effective at eliminating discrimination than human decision-makers. #HRtech #HR #AI #futureofwork techtarget.com/searchhrsoftwa…

Some hashtag#HR chiefs see AI-enabled skills-based hiring as a seniority wrecking ball #hrtechconference #hrtech #skills #AIdisruption techtarget.com/searchhrsoftwa…