(The Center Square) – Thirteen members of Congress led by Republicans from Arizona and Texas have called on the Department of Justice to investigate alleged visa abuse in Chicago.
They’ve also called on Attorney General Todd Blanche to investigate what they argue is a faulty ruling a DOJ administrative law judge issued when dismissing a lawsuit, U.S. Tech Workers vs Boston Consulting Group.
The lawsuit alleges that the Boston Consulting Group participated in a Chicago program created to recruit and hire foreign workers through the H-1B visa program instead of Americans, P33-Chicago H-1B Connect.
The Trump administration has issued a series of directives and policy changes to crack down on what President Donald Trump categorizes as visa abuse, including H-1B visas, The Center Square reported.
The lawsuit alleges the program discouraged Americans from applying for jobs and violated citizenship status protections specifically outlined in section 274B of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The DOJ’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer presides over hearings mandated by the INA and the Immigration Act of 1990. The administrative judge dismissed the lawsuit based on a faulty understanding of the INA and wrongly concluded that U.S. Tech Workers didn’t present sufficient evidence to substantiate their discrimination claims, the delegation argues.
“In particular, the decision suggests that section 274B does not provide a cause of action for discriminatory advertising and that the advertising designed to prioritize non-immigrants on the basis of national origin or citizenship does not discriminate against American workers,” U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, and Chip Roy, R-TX, wrote Blanche. They led the congressional delegation calling on Blanche to investigate.
The administrative judge’s interpretation of the INA “warrants careful review,” they said. “Congress enacted the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 to protect U.S. workers from discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin. If employers can expressly target foreign workers while discouraging Americans from applying, those protections are substantially weakened.”
They also pointed to actions the Trump DOJ has taken to protect American workers, including a recent $3.2 million settlement the DOJ secured with OpenAI, a California-based artificial intelligence company, and its subsidiary, Statsig Inc., a Washington-based software development company. This lawsuit alleged the companies violated the INA by discriminating against American workers by recruiting and hiring foreign workers through a Permanent Labor Certification program.
The program allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for permanent resident status if they first recruit in the U.S. and certify that they couldn’t find qualified U.S. workers. The program prohibits companies from discriminating against Americans.
The OpenAI settlement was the 13th settlement since the DOJ re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025. The initiative enforces the INA’s prohibition on discrimination against Americans.
The congressional delegation said the same legal standard applies in the Chicago case. “We believe those efforts should be applied consistently,” they wrote. “Companies should not be permitted to avoid federal anti-discrimination protections simply by structuring recruitment through third-party platforms or advertising positions in a manner that excludes or discourages American workers.”
Founded in 2018, U.S. Tech Workers has been advocating for displaced American tech workers, combating the impacts of outsourcing American jobs and calling for visa reforms to protect American workers, it says.
Housed within the Institute for Sound Public Policy, it argues, “protecting U.S. technology workers and their jobs leads to a more productive, prosperous and secure America.”
The institute called on Blanche to investigate. “There are those who believe there is no such thing as advertising discrimination. Fortunately for us, these 13 members of Congress see things differently,” it said.
Four of those signing the letter are Republicans from Texas: U.S. Reps. Roy, Brian Babin, Keith Self and Randy Weber. They’ve also called for a federal investigation into H1-B visa fraud in Texas, The Center Square reported.
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller is the only member of Illinois’ congressional delegation who signed the letter. Other Republicans who signed it are from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.
Roy said he hopes Blanche investigating will help “end widespread H-1B abuse once and for all.”
