President Donald Trump’s two recent executive orders, one imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas and the other launching the “Gold Card” fast-track residency program, represent the most significant immigration reforms in decades.
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They flip the incentive structure that has for years favored multinational corporations and global outsourcing firms over American workers, while also tackling long-ignored national security risks.
As a policy, open borders is one area where Democrats and many Republicans agree. Democrats want new voters, while the Chamber of Commerce and Wall Street Journal Republicans want cheap labor. President George W. Bush, backed by Senator John McCain, in 2007, pushed for “comprehensive immigration reform,” a euphemism for amnesty, for millions of illegal aliens, which fortunately failed a US Senate vote.
Enter President Trump, the only president in my lifetime who has recognized that America has a sovereign border. Even President Reagan failed to repair our dysfunctional immigration system. He signed an amnesty bill into law, which NPR heralded as “a Reagan legacy,” and it unsurprisingly turned California from a red to a blue state. No wonder NPR loved it.
The H-1B program was initially created to help U.S. companies fill rare, high-skilled roles when American expertise was unavailable.
However, in practice, it has become a pathway for cheap foreign labor. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), in 2022, the top 30 H-1B employers brought in 34,000 new visa workers even as they laid off at least 85,000 Americans. From MAGA to making the rest of the world great again.
The proportion of IT workers on H-1Bs has risen from 32% in 2003 to over 65% today, even as unemployment among recent computer science graduates remains above six percent, according to the White House.
Trump’s order significantly alters the landscape.
Companies now face a $100,000 annual fee per H-1B visa, rather than just a one-time filing fee, according to the White House. This ongoing expense is meant to give employers pause. Is the skill truly so scarce that it justifies paying $100,000 annually to Washington, D.C., in addition to salary and benefits? If so, that’s acceptable, but the era of flooding payrolls with lower-cost foreign contractors has ended.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified, “The whole idea is no more with these big tech companies or other large corporations training foreign workers. They have to pay the government $100,000, and then they have to pay the employee.”
To emphasize, this is an annual fee, not a one-time payment. The fee expires after one year unless renewed.
Perhaps the most damaging effect of the H-1B system has been on young Americans considering careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Why spend years earning a STEM degree, at great personal expense, when companies like Amazon and Microsoft prefer cheaper contractors from abroad? The White House itself warned that the H-1B program is creating “disincentives for future American workers to choose STEM careers.”
That chilling effect has serious consequences. When American graduates see their job opportunities cut by a surge of imported labor, many choose to leave critical fields altogether. In the long run, this not only harms wages but also weakens the nation’s innovation pipeline. Trump’s order restores fair competition and keeps STEM careers open for U.S. students.
It’s not literal slavery, but it amounts to modern-day indentured servitude with workers tied to one employer, unable to leave without risking deportation.
The debate extends beyond just economics. Allowing tens of thousands of foreign nationals, many from strategic competitors like China, to work in sensitive sectors such as semiconductors, defense, and telecommunications poses serious national security risks. Intellectual property theft, espionage, and divided loyalties are real threats, not just theories. They have been repeatedly documented by U.S. intelligence agencies.
By tightening the H-1B pipeline, Trump’s executive action reduces this exposure. America cannot afford to have its cutting-edge military and technology sectors mainly staffed by non-citizens. Conservatives have long argued that border security and economic security are connected. Trump’s order makes clear that high-skill visas are no exception.
Ross Perot, when running for president in 1992, famously warned, “You’re going to hear a giant sucking sound of jobs going south” due to American jobs leaving the country over NAFTA.
Back then, the threat was factories moving overseas.
Today, the sound is different, but the effect is the same. American workers are being replaced, this time by imported labor under H-1B. Trump’s reforms respond to Perot’s warning a generation later by using executive authority to keep jobs with American citizens.
If the H-1B order closes the cheap-labor loophole, the Gold Card program opens a new, carefully targeted door.
For a $1 million gift to the U.S. government, wealthy individuals can obtain a green card through expedited review. Corporations can sponsor key employees for $2 million, while a proposed Platinum Card at $5 million could someday provide a path to citizenship. Applicants still must pass background checks and meet immigration law requirements. The only difference is their position in line, which they leap to the front.
This approach addresses two issues simultaneously. First, it monetizes efficiency by having applicants pay for expedited processing instead of taxpayers funding an overcrowded immigration system. Second, it makes sure that those who skip ahead are likely to be job creators and investors, not liabilities. As CBS News reported, Trump explained: “We’re going to have great people coming in, and they’re going to be paying.”
Such programs are common. Portugal offers a Golden Visa program that requires a five-year investment in monetary assets for residency, which is less direct and efficient compared to Trump’s proposal.
For conservatives cautious about unrestricted immigration, this presents a strong bargain: America gains capital instead of bearing costs.
Unsurprisingly, Big Tech is unhappy. Venture capitalists argue that the $100,000 H-1B fee could hurt America’s competitiveness, but this overlooks how the current system has suppressed domestic innovation by discouraging Americans from pursuing STEM careers. Genuine innovation thrives when American students and workers believe they can compete fairly.
Foreign governments have also expressed concern, especially India, which depends heavily on exporting workers to the U.S.
However, “mutual benefits” cannot mean ongoing disadvantages for American workers. If Indian talent is truly essential, companies can pay higher fees or opt for the Gold Card route.
These executive orders achieve what years of congressional debate failed to do -- they restore fairness and balance. They send a clear message that American jobs and national security come first, while still welcoming genuine talent and investment. This is true MAGA.
Critics might question the legality of Trump’s actions, and courts could intervene. Some far-left judges are probably already preparing their restraining orders and injunctions. But Trump is not changing immigration law itself, only the process, which is controlled by the executive branch.
The political message is clear. Under this administration, immigration policy is no longer aimed at boosting corporate profits or appeasing foreign governments. Instead, it is focused on defending the American worker, supporting the American student, and securing America’s future.
Contrast this with the Biden administration, which has allowed record levels of illegal border crossings. Trump has sealed the border and is now fixing a broken immigration system.
President Trump’s dual actions on immigration, the H-1B overhaul and the Gold Card launch, are bold, controversial, and exactly what conservatives have demanded for years.
By making H-1Bs prohibitively expensive each year, he fights wage suppression, encourages Americans to pursue STEM fields, and addresses national security concerns. Simultaneously, the Gold Card provides a practical, revenue-generating pathway for the world’s most talented entrepreneurs and investors to come to America legally.
This is what immigration policy should be -- tough, fair, and unapologetically MAGA pro-American.
Brian C. Joondeph, M.D., is a physician and writer. Follow me on Twitter @retinaldoctor, Substack Dr. Brian’s Substack, Truth Social @BrianJoondeph, LinkedIn @Brian Joondeph, and by email brianjoondeph@gmail.com.