This Issue: Trump Administration sues Facebook for discriminating against American workers.

Meanwhile, Senate approves bill that would allow Facebook to hire MORE foreign workers!

The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued the social media giant Facebook on Thursday, alleging that the company reserved high-paying, tech jobs for foreign workers instead of attempting to recruit, hire, and train American workers.

Coincidently, the lawsuit was filed the day after the Senate passed, with unanimous consent, Sen. Mike Lee's (R-Utah) and Sen. Dick Durbin's (D-Ill.) amended version of H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.

The bill would lift per-country caps for employment-based visas. Advocates for tech workers say that would likely concentrate even more of the industry jobs in the hands of workers from India and China, further disadvantaging American workers.

The House passed H.R. 1044 over a year ago, and Sen. Lee has been trying to get it through the Senate for the better part of 2020.

Because Sen. Lee made changes to the House-passed version, the House will have to vote on the Lee version -- or -- the two chambers will have to work out the differences.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who authored the House version, announced on Twitter yesterday that she opposes the Senate-amended version, but wants to strike a deal.

We've posted a new action on your Action Board, urging your House Rep. to opposed H.R. 1044.

DOJ: Facebook 'implements a recruitment process intentionally designed to deter U.S. workers from applying'

In a 17-page complaint, the DOJ alleges that Facebook advertised approximately 2,600 positions in 2018 and 2019 that were created with the sole purpose of hiring H-1B workers into permanent positions, so the workers would be eligible for green cards. The complaint alleges that Facebook intentionally suppressed the job listings, so that qualified American workers would not see the listings and apply.

Through this process, the DOJ alleges that Facebook discriminated against American workers and that it was "routine, ongoing, and widespread."

FB and H.R. 1044

In 2019 and 2020, Facebook spent more than $31 million lobbying Congress to pass legislation, including the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.

By eliminating per-country caps for employment-based visas, the legislation would ensure that most high-skilled foreign workers would come from either India or China, and since those workers disproportionately work in the high-tech industry, it would adversely affect American tech workers.

Furthermore, Sen. Lee's changes to H.R. 1044 would allow most foreign guest workers to petition for a green card and stay and work in the U.S. until a green card becomes available, subsequently freeing up visas subject to numerical limits for more foreign workers.

Given the DOJ allegations, it's no surprise that Facebook spent so much money lobbying Congress to pass H.R. 1044.

Chris Chmielenski NumbersUSA Deputy Director