Morgan Griffith, Phil Roe Betray American Workers

I grew up in Norton, Virginia, in Wise County, and have lived in Bristol, Virginia, since 1984, witnessing the economic decline of Southwest Virginia firsthand. On July 10, 2019, Representatives Morgan Griffith (VA-9) and Phil Roe (TN-1) voted for H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, a bill that prioritizes foreign tech workers over Americans. In a region dominated by pro-business Republicans who hide behind an absurd “free market” ideology while promoting crony capitalism, this vote exemplifies a labor-hostile agenda that betrays the working class they claim to represent.

H.R. 1044, deceptively named the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, passed the House with bipartisan support: 224 Democrats and 140 Republicans voted yes, while 8 Democrats and 57 Republicans voted no. Signed into law in 2021, it eliminated per-country caps on employment-based green cards, clearing a backlog for Indian and Chinese tech workers on H-1B visas. By 2024, Indian nationals received over 70% of the 140,000 annual employment-based green cards, with estimates of 300,000 additional green cards for Indian workers and their families over a decade. This influx, combined with 85,000 new H-1B visas annually and a resident population of 580,000 H-1B workers, floods the tech sector with cheap foreign labor, undercutting American wages and displacing U.S. graduates.

Neil Munro, writing for Breitbart on June 6, 2019, highlighted the scale of this issue: each year, 4 million young Americans enter the workforce, while the U.S. admits 1.1 million legal immigrants, maintains 1.5 million white-collar visa workers (including H-1B), and 500,000 blue-collar visa workers. The government also issues over 1 million work permits for foreigners, tolerates 11 million undocumented immigrants—many in low-wage sectors—and fails to punish companies for hiring illegal workers. In Virginia’s meatpacking industry, wages have fallen 40% since the 1970s, from $25 to $15 per hour in 2025 dollars, and jobs often require Spanish fluency, excluding American workers.

In Southwest Virginia, where I’ve lived for over 40 years, the labor market is already in crisis. The Tri-Cities region lost 54,795 jobs from 2009 to 2018, and the labor force has shrunk from 243,000 in 2008 to 218,000 by January 2025—a decline of 25,000 workers. Bristol, VA, has a poverty rate of 20.1% (2023 Census) and an unemployment rate of 4.5% (January 2025), above Virginia’s 3.2%. Over 50% of households in the region are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) or in poverty, unable to afford basics, as I’ve detailed before. Policies like H.R. 1044 drive down wages further, displacing American IT workers—many burdened with student loan debt—while low-wage sectors are flooded with immigrant labor, leaving local workers with few opportunities.

Southwest Virginia’s pro-business Republicans operate under an absurd ideology of “free markets,” claiming to champion economic growth through reduced government intervention. In reality, they promote crony capitalism, funneling public funds to favored businesses while neglecting the working class. Griffith and Roe’s votes for H.R. 1044 reflect this agenda, allowing corporations to hire cheaper foreign tech workers at the expense of Americans. At the same time, they’ve overseen millions in corporate welfare: American Merchant in Bristol promised 405 jobs but delivered only 50—and appears abandoned as of my 2025 visits—while the Western Front Hotel ($7.8 million in taxpayer funds) and ARC grants in 2015-16 lack transparency and accountability. This cronyism, cloaked as “market-friendly” policy, deepens the region’s economic struggles, leaving the working class to bear the burden.

Griffith, still in office, and Roe, succeeded by Diana Harshbarger—who voted for H-2B visa expansions in 2023—have consistently favored policies that undermine the working class. The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act is unfair to American workers, particularly in economically distressed regions like Southwest Virginia. The Bristol Herald Courier, as I’ve noted, filters facts to “protect” the public, failing to report on the impacts of these policies, further enabling government secrecy and corporate overreach. In a region where 52% of Wise County households struggle, and the Tri-Cities face persistent decline, we need leaders who prioritize American workers, not foreign labor and corporate profits. Griffith and his ilk need to answer to Southwest Virginia voters—they’ll never get my vote again.

Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.