The Trump administration’s labor department has launched Operation Firewall, a wide enforcement push that opened nearly 200 investigations into H‑1B visa abuses to protect American wages and jobs.
Operation Firewall is a focused crackdown led by the Department of Labor to stop companies from gaming the H‑1B system and depressing wages. The effort, announced by Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez‑DeRemer, targets patterns of fraud and employer misconduct that cost American workers and distort the labor market.
Lori Chavez‑DeRemer laid out the scale and purpose of the initiative in candid terms. “Almost 200 investigations now have been brought forward, and what’s important to recognize is that there are companies who are using the H-1 visa program who are abusing the program. What we want to make sure is we’re always protecting the American worker,” she told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. “What we want to make sure is that we’re providing the skilled workforce so that Americans have these jobs first and foremost.”
The secretary did not mince words about enforcement and compliance. “If that is not the case and these businesses need to apply for the H-1B visa program, we want to make sure that they’re following the law and not abusing and depressing American wages with foreign labor. That is not the goal of the program,” she continued. “We want integrity. I want to work with the Department of Homeland to make sure that they have that.”
Chavez‑DeRemer also emphasized that this is a historic use of the department’s full authority to protect U.S. workers. “So, Project Firewall: it is the first time in history that the Secretary will use all the tools, and I have been able to sign personally some of these investigations. We will clamp down on these companies who are abusing and depressing wages and not protecting the American worker first!”
Operation Firewall began in September and quickly uncovered troubling patterns at firms hiring H‑1B holders. Investigators found that some foreign professionals with advanced degrees were being paid far less than the prevailing wage for comparable American workers, creating downward pressure on salaries across the board.
The Department of Labor’s review also documented paperwork failures and delayed notifications to immigration authorities when H‑1B employees were terminated. Employers either failed to inform U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in a timely way or submitted notifications only after long delays, which undercuts protections intended to prevent abuse.
Those practices produce two clear harms: they sideline American applicants for skilled roles and they erode wage standards for everyone in affected industries. When companies substitute lower‑paid foreign labor for equally qualified Americans, the result is fewer opportunities and weaker bargaining power for domestic workers.
A Republican perspective supports vigorous enforcement that preserves the visa program’s original purpose: to fill genuine, temporary skills gaps without undercutting U.S. labor. Operation Firewall aims to restore that balance by holding bad actors accountable and insisting on transparency and fair pay.
Going forward, the administration is signaling that investigations will move beyond warnings to formal actions when the facts show abuse. That approach sends a message to employers that compliance is not optional and that protecting American wages remains a top priority for the Department of Labor.
