H-2A, H-2B Foreign Workers Not Tested for Coronavirus Before Entering U.S.

Foreign workers brought to the United States on the H-2A and H-2B visa programs, through a fast-tracked process by the State Department, will only undergo additional medical screening if they have symptoms of the Chinese coronavirus, Breitbart News has learned.

As jobless claims for Americans have reached more than ten million in just weeks, the State Department announced waivers for H-2A and H-2B foreign workers. The plan, spearheaded by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, allows American businesses to more quickly bring foreign workers to the U.S.

Between the H-2A visa program, for foreign agricultural workers, and the H-2B visa program, for foreign nonagricultural workers, more than 350,000 additional blue-collar foreign workers are imported to the U.S. labor market annually. Despite this year’s record unemployment, hundreds of thousands of H-2A and H-2B foreign workers are expected to take American jobs.

In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, these H-2A and H-2B foreign workers will continue to only undergo the existing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) screenings, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson told Breitbart News.

The procedure means DHS will not require that each H-2A and H-2B foreign worker be tested for coronavirus before entering the U.S. Instead, those showing symptoms of coronavirus “will be referred to DHS medical contractors, the CDC, or local health authorities for enhanced health screening,” the CBP spokesperson said in a statement.

Report: Crammed Working Conditions for H-2A Foreign Workers Pose Public Health Riskhttps://t.co/O8RMGuDa42

— John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) April 4, 2020

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