An additional 35,000 temporary foreign workers will be allowed into the United States this year to fill seasonal jobs amid a tight labour market, the Trump administration said Thursday. Photo: Internet Source

In expanding the number of so-called H-2B visas for temporary non-farm workers, the administration is siding with business groups and members of Congress who have argued that there are not enough Americans to fill many service-sector and food-processing jobs across the country.

“There are a lot of advocates, especially in Congress, on both sides of the aisle that really push for this,” said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute.

But it also puts the administration in conflict with those who favour more restrictive immigration policies, including many supporters of President Donald Trump.

“Raising the limit of H-2B visas means prioritising cheap foreign labour overpaying better wages for American workers to do the same jobs,” Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, said on Twitter.