A cap will soon kick in on the number of short-term work visas provided under the H-2B program, which brings in low-skilled labor for non-agricultural jobs that American employers say they can’t otherwise fill. Southern-tier states have already secured workers, but many resorts with later seasons won’t make it into the queue.
Summer resorts around the nation are bracing for a tough season, as the reinstatement of a cap on visas for temporary workers has some in the hospitality industry predicting catastrophe, WBUR Boston, an NPR member station, reported.
At the Beachmere Inn in Ogunsuit, Maine, a surge of tourists transforms the property into a bustling New England ocean resort colony in the summer, accompanied by an influx of foreign workers, WBUR reported.
“Most of the women that have worked for us have come from Jamaica,” said owner Sarah Diment. “They come, they work. They buy—it’s an insane amount of goods that they ship home. And then they go home every year.”
But prospects are dimming for their return this year. A cap will soon kick in on the number of short-term work visas provided under the H-2B program. It brings in low-skilled labor for non-agricultural jobs that American employers say they can’t fill closer to home—mostly in landscaping, seafood processing, housekeeping and other hospitality services, WBUR reported.
The program provides roughly 66,000 of the visas, and some years, including 2016, Congress has allowed more. But not this year. Southern-tier states, such as Florida, have already secured workers, but many resorts with later seasons won’t make it into the queue. Diment is likely to close up whole sections of the Beachmere, cancel reservations booked long ago, and possibly lay off local staff, WBUR reported.
“If I have to take out 20 rooms out of inventory, then do I really need five people in our maintenance department?” said Diment. “Do I really need eight people at the front desk? Not only would it impact my guests, but it would potentially impact what we do here as a hotel to stay open with everyone else.”
The squeeze is expected at resort communities up and down the East Coast and its islands. On Martha’s Vineyard, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Nancy Gardella said local inn owners rely on hundreds of Jamaicans who’ve been coming for years—and rising to supervisory positions—and who are unlikely to secure visas this year, WBUR reported.
“We have one industry here in Martha’s Vineyard and it is tourism,” Gardella said. “It’s the kind of problem that you’re faced with when the economy is going well, but on the flip side, if you cannot provide the necessary services, you’re in deep trouble.”
Such concerns have caught the attention of a bipartisan coalition of senators, including Maine Republican Susan Collins, that wants an audit of the H-2B program to ensure all available visas are issued, WBUR reported.
“I think it’s important to realize, even in this environment, where immigration issues have become so controversial, that these are essentially guest workers,” Collins said.
More visas should be allotted for returning workers, Collins said, but efforts to reform or expand the program are likely to be caught in the larger immigration debate and divide Republicans, WBUR reported.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, for instance, condemned the program last year when he was an Alabama senator. “Our focus needs to be on getting Americans back to work,” Sessions said, “not on seeing how many foreign workers we can bring to the United States.”
Progressive groups also oppose the program. They point to evidence of abuses: unenforced pay scale requirements, which can hurt wages for American job-seekers. And because the visas commit workers to a single employer, opponents say there’s a power imbalance that puts workers at risk of deportation if they try to protest any mistreatment, WBUR reported.
Congressional supporters of the visa program still may try to attach expansions to a coming budget measure. One major wildcard: President Trump. “Buy American and hire American” has been his mantra, but he’s also hired dozens of H-2B workers for his properties, including Mar-a-Lago, WBUR reported.
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