By now, you've all heard about the tragic incident in Florida last week, where illegal immigrant Harjinder Singh pulled an illegal u-turn in the 18-wheeler he was driving.
A minivan with 3 people inside was forced to crash into Singh's trailer and everyone aboard was killed instantly.
A dash camera recorded the entire crash, and Singh's cold reaction set the internet ablaze. The driver reacted as if he had hit a speed bump.
Somehow Singh had gotten valid commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) in both California and Washington State.
And it turns out he failed his English language test, getting only two of twelve questions correct. He also failed a street sign exam, identifying just one of four accurately.
Additionally, Singh had been arrested by border patrol in 2018, two days after he crossed into the U.S. But he was released after claiming persecution in his home country of India.
How on Earth did this man stay in the country illegally so long? Why was he allowed to drive a semi-truck after failing the exams?
Americans are demanding answers, and action.
Even before this unfortunate incident in Florida, a backlash was already building against immigration. Both legal and illegal.
In particular there's been a fierce debate over H-1B work visas, which allow "exceptional" global talent to come work in America.
The problem is, the H-1B system has been gamed. 72% of all these visas are issued to Indians, where the process has become industrialized.
Big tech companies love H-1B workers. They cost less than equivalent Americans, and they can be pushed to work 60-80 hours a week. If they refuse to work long hours for below-standard pay, they can lose their sponsorship and be forced to leave the country.
Fraud in the H-1B space is apparently rampant. Diploma mills, fake scientific publications, and false work histories are regular occurrences.
Despite this, American tech workers are increasingly being laid off in favor of H-1B workers. According to Fortune, fully 60% of new college graduates are failing to find full-time work. The kids who were told to "learn to code" are graduating into a brutal job market with few prospects.
Young Americans are forced to compete with foreign workers willing to take a lower salary and work 80 hours a week. It's absurd.
The combination of AI and workers on visa is creating a disastrous environment for workers, both blue and white-collar.
This situation is a recipe for civil unrest.
Since this backlash began, the Trump administration has taken notice. Secretary of State Marco Rubio just came out and said that they are pausing issuing visas to commercial drivers:
The post on X got a whopping 7.5 million views, 175,000 likes, and 29,000 reposts. It's a start.
The Trump administration also announced it is conducting a review of "all 55 million people with U.S. visas for potential deportable violations."
55 million visas? Excuse me? Many of us were shocked by that number. Of course, some of those are tourist visas.
But then we also have to add in all the illegal immigration. How many illegal workers are in the country? 20 million? 40 million? Nobody knows.
This issue is not going away anytime soon. Americans are struggling to stay above water, and loose immigration policies are making jobs harder to find and housing more expensive.
Things could get very ugly, very soon.
To be clear, I don't blame immigrants for wanting to come to the U.S. They can earn multiples of what they can at home, and help their families. I primarily blame U.S. lawmakers. Both parties have utterly failed us. President Trump needs to step up and take action.
The situation today is completely out of control. Fraud is rampant, companies are abusing work visa programs, and there is simply too much immigration volume. Our welfare and healthcare systems are being systematically taken advantage of.
Many of us are increasingly of the opinion that the country is full.
This story isn't going away. It's just getting started.
The Daily Reckoning