Obama Judge Hands Trump Victory In Battle Against H-1B Pipeline

A federal judge handed President Donald Trump a major victory on Tuesday night in his effort to rein in the massive flow of cheap, foreign labor into the United States.

D.C. District Judge Beryl Howell upheld President Donald Trump’s authority to slap a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, according to court documents. The ruling marks the latest action against a visa program adored by big business, but long accused of displacing American workers, particularly those in the tech industry.

The Trump administration’s decision to make approvals of new H-1B applications contingent upon a $100,000 payout is within the power Congress delegated to the White House under immigration law, Howell, appointed to the bench in 2010 by President Barack Obama, wrote in her 56-page decision.

“The lawfulness of the Proclamation and its implementation rests on a straightforward reading of congressional statutes giving the President broad authority to regulate entry into the United States for immigrants and nonimmigrants alike,” the Obama-appointed judge wrote.