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By Dartunorro Clark
Aubrey Vincent is bracing for the unthinkable.
She first started working for her family’s small business, Lindy’s Seafood, at age 12. She watched it blossom into a regional staple in the crab town of Fishing Creek, Maryland, before taking it over. But for the second year in a row, companies like hers that rely on temporary foreign labor are poised to take a hard hit, or possibly close altogether.
“I’m second-generation and, at this point, it’s hard to think that maybe I can’t do this anymore, but that’s essentially where we are,” Vincent, 31, told NBC News. “We’re in a worse position than we were last year.”
The Trump administration is once again planning to use a lottery system to dole out 33,000 H-2B visas — the government program that allows businesses like Lindy’s Seafood to hire those temporary foreign workers — this spring, rather than the first-come, first-serve model used under previous administrations. Businesses strained by the change last year will find themselves competing against record demand this year, according to the Department of Labor statistics. Compounding the problem, experts said, is that Congress is no closer to reforming the program than it has been since it was enacted it in 1990, despite pleas from seasonal businesses and their associations to act.
“Last year, we lost six months of sales, business and income,” Vincent said. “To have to go through that again this year, it’s just a matter of how long can you work two months a year before you fold?”
President Donald Trump has long complained about the loss of American jobs to immigrants and overseas workers, despite documented evidence of his businesses relying on foreign labor and also using the H-2B program.
But Vincent said the visas help American businesses like hers stay afloat, which in turn also supports American jobs. She said she has exhausted efforts to recruit American workers because most are not interested in the laborious task of processing hundreds of barrels of fresh crab.
Due to the revenue hit in 2018, for instance, many of her full-time American workers had to leave last year to find different work.
“It was awful and I’m worried I can’t ask them to come back this year,” she said about her full-time workers. “If it’s going to be more of the same I don’t want to see their families have to struggle.”
This year, the H-2B program received requests for nearly 100,000 foreign workers, roughly three times the number of visas available. Congress sets the limit at 66,000 and it’s divided between the spring and fall. The demand this year, which briefly crashed the online Department of Labor application system, has put some businesses that rely heavily on them, such as landscaping and carnivals, in survival mode.
Vincent requested 105 foreign workers — a typical number for her — and will have to wait until April to find out if she will get them before her season kicks into high gear.
“I’m hoping people realize that these programs have the ability to benefit everyone if they’re well-run and done efficiently,” she said. “They create American jobs and create a lot of opportunity in our community.”
Bill Sieling, the executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association in Maryland, implored Congress to fix the program or it could spell the end of some local industries that need the program to survive.
“It’s just a broken system,” he said. “And it’s extremely unfair to the businesses.”
He added, “If you get below a certain threshold you’re no longer an industry, you’re a cottage; you’re no longer a viable player in the industry and lose whatever marketing advantage you have. And that’s probably what would happen if we don’t come up with a solution for this.”
The Department of Homeland Security, through Congress, has the authority to issue the visas. Last year, they issued an additional 15,000 visas to offer relief to businesses due to demand. In a statement to NBC News on Friday, the agency said it’s committed to “upholding our nation’s immigration laws” while also thoroughly reviewing “employment-based visa programs” to make sure they align with Trump’s pledge to put American workers first.
“USCIS will continue adjudicating all applications fairly, efficiently, and effectively on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations,” said Michael Bars, a spokesperson for DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“USCIS continues to grant the statutory level of H-2B visas set by Congress.”
Last year, landscaping was the top industry requesting workers, according to Department of Labor data. However, the industry has felt a real crunch over the past two years, Andrew Bray, a vice president at the National Association of Landscape Professionals, said.