After his ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, it’s now Donald Trump’s fee for H-1B visas that has been struck down by a US court. A federal court ruled on Monday that “the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax,” which must have Congress approval.
No unilateral authority to impose such a tax had been delegated to the executive, the court noted, while recalling the Supreme Court’s verdict in the tariffs case to point out that the authority for such an imposition rests with lawmakers.
The Trump administration plans to appeal the ruling, which is not a surprise given the self-righteous approach it has taken on his professed agenda to make his country “great again”.
He had argued that these visas for highly skilled workers were being misused and taking jobs away from American workers, even as businesses pointed out the value that global talent helps the US generate.
If the US insists on using hiring barriers to close off its job market, it could lose its big advantage over China: the trend captured by Neil Diamond when he sang “everywhere around the world, they’re coming to America”. On lost greatness, the US judiciary seems better clued in.