MIAMI (AP) – The social media corporation established by ex-President Donald Trump has submitted an application for a business visa program that he aimed to limit during his tenure and that numerous of his supporters desire him to reduce if he were to serve a second term.

Trump Media & Technology Group, the company responsible for Truth Social, submitted an application in June 2022 for an H-1B visa for an employee earning an annual salary of $65,000, which is the minimum wage level permitted by the program. According to federal immigration data, the corporation received approval for a visa a few months after. The corporation asserts that it did not employ the worker.

Trump Called This Visa ‘Very Bad’ For Americans. Truth Social Applied For One

The act of applying for the visa highlights the contradiction between Trump the candidate, who has advocated for a protectionist approach that encourages corporations to prioritize American workers, and Trump the businessman, who has expressed his intention to utilize all available means for his companies. The investment firm established by Jared Kushner, who is both President Trump’s son-in-law and a White House adviser, submitted an application and received approval to employ a foreign individual as an associate through the visa program.

According to a statement from Trump Media & Technology Group, the application was submitted when the company was under previous management. However, it is worth noting that the current CEO, Devin Nunes, who was already leading the company, was involved in the application process when it was initially filed with the U.S. Department of Labor.

The company has never employed, and has no intentions of employing, a worker through the H-1B visa program. The company stated that upon discovering the application, which was submitted under a previous management period, the present management promptly halted the process in November 2022.

The cost for corporations to file an H-1B visa petition is approximately $5,000 per employee. Companies have the ability to retract applications even after they have been granted approval. The data maintained by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does not include information about visa revocations. However, a representative from the Labor Department, which also monitors H-1B applications, stated that they have no documented evidence of Truth Social submitting a request for withdrawal.

An ubiquitous instrument utilized by technology enterprises.
Technology companies frequently employ individuals through the H-1B program. Prior to assuming the presidency, Trump openly acknowledged his utilization of visas, mostly for the purpose of importing foreign models and a limited number of workers for his hotels and resorts. This information is based on an examination of the petitions filed since 2009.

However, apart from renewing current applications, his companies seemed to have ceased requesting H-1B visas until the creation of Truth Social.

According to the Labor Department, Trump Media & Technology Group submitted an application for an employee to receive a salary of $65,000. The employer is listed as Will Wilkerson, who is a co-founder of the company and a former senior vice president of operations. The employment is located in Atlanta, as indicated by the provided address.

In August 2022, Wilkerson submitted a whistleblower complaint to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, accusing the corporation of committing securities breaches. He lost his job, and The Washington Post reported that he is now actively working with federal investigators. His legal representatives stated that he would refrain from providing any comments.

‘I should be prohibited from using it.’
Trump often discusses the influx of migrants who unlawfully cross the U.S.-Mexico border, but his policy agenda throughout his presidency also involved restrictions on legal immigration, such as family-based visas and the visa lottery program.

Trump Called This Visa ‘Very Bad’ For Americans. Truth Social Applied For One

During a primary debate in 2016, Trump expressed his disapproval of the H-1B visa program, describing it as both “very detrimental” and “inequitable” for American workers.

“To begin with, I possess extensive knowledge and understanding of the H-1B visa.” And it’s a tool that I frequently utilize, even though I should not have permission to do so. “We should not possess it,” he stated. “Furthermore, it is crucial to acknowledge that I am a businessman and I must prioritize my actions based on necessity.”

Three months into his presidency, Trump issued an executive order titled “Buy American and Hire American.” This order instructed Cabinet members to propose changes that would prioritize the allocation of H-1B visas to applicants who were either well paid or highly talented, with the aim of safeguarding American workers. He has previously asserted that the program was utilized by technology businesses to acquire overseas employees at a reduced salary.

Under his administration, a research conducted by the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy revealed that the government was intensifying its examination of cases by issuing additional information requests to companies seeking to employ foreign workers and rejecting a higher number of petitions.

The “Project 2025” handbook, created by supporters anticipating Trump’s potential assumption of power, suggests that the H-1B program should be restructured to function as an exclusive mechanism for attracting the most talented individuals at competitive wages, while also ensuring that American workers are not put at a disadvantage by the program.

Nicolas Morales, an economist specializing on labor and migration at the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, stated that over 60% of the total visas granted are attributed to companies in the professional, scientific, and technical services sectors. Morales stated that he has discovered that the visa program has proven advantageous for small enterprises in maintaining their operations.

Participating in and being selected in the H-1B lottery is advantageous for them. “It enhances their likelihood of survival,” he stated. “Over the next five years, small companies that heavily rely on skilled labor are expected to remain active.”

Trump Called This Visa ‘Very Bad’ For Americans. Truth Social Applied For One

The applications necessitate employers to affirm that they will furnish foreign workers with equivalent benefits as those provided to U.S. workers, and remunerate them at a higher rate than individuals with comparable expertise and qualifications, or above the standard wage for that particular occupation. Companies are required to notify their workers of the filing by displaying a notice in two locations at the workplace.

A significant portion of the criticism surrounding the H-1B program is to corporations providing foreign workers with salaries that fall under the lower wage brackets. The application submitted by Kushner’s investment firm to employ a foreign worker seems to address the allegation adequately.

The Labor Department approved a document in which Kushner’s investment firm stated that it would provide a salary of $200,000 to this employee. This amount falls inside the highest compensation range for H-1B visas, which are usually granted to individuals who are highly skilled in their industry and hold senior positions. According to recent data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the company has been granted a visa approval.

Kushner has abstained from joining the Trump campaign and has been actively pursuing his own business ventures by submitting applications for tourism projects in the Balkans.

SOURCE – (AP)

The city of Port-au-Prince in Haiti is the subject of this news article. During a recent morning in a hospital located in the center of gang-infested territory in Haiti’s capital, a woman experienced convulsions followed by a loss of consciousness, prompting a doctor and two nurses to swiftly intervene in an attempt to save her.

Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut

Electrodes were attached to her chest and an oxygen machine was activated, while the observers monitored a computer screen displaying a critically low oxygen level of 84%.

The cause of her ailment remained unknown to everyone.

Additionally, there is a severe lack of crucial medications used to treat seizures at the Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Cite Soleil slum.

“We have a severe shortage of the medication that she urgently requires,” stated Dr. Rachel Lavigne, a physician affiliated with the medical aid organization.

Every day, at hospitals and clinics throughout Port-au-Prince, a similar situation unfolds. Vital medication and equipment are becoming scarce or completely unavailable due to the increasing control of ruthless gangs over the capital and surrounding areas. They have obstructed roadways, compelled the early closure of the primary international airport in March, and halted operations at the nation’s largest seaport, where containers containing essential supplies are still immobile.

“All systems are experiencing a complete failure,” Lavigne stated.

The health system in Haiti has historically been vulnerable, but it is currently on the verge of complete collapse following the coordinated assaults by gangs on February 29th, which specifically targeted essential facilities in the capital and surrounding areas.

Due to the violence, numerous medical institutions and dialysis clinics, including Haiti’s primary public hospital, have been compelled to shut down. Situated in the heart of Port-au-Prince, the Hospital of the State University of Haiti was scheduled to resume operations on April 1 following its closure during the onset of the onslaught. However, there has been a compromise of the facility due to gang infiltration.

Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut

An escalating state of disorder has resulted in an increasing number of individuals suffering from cancer, AIDS, and other severe diseases being left without any viable options for treatment. Additionally, criminal gangs have been pillaging and setting ablaze pharmacies located in the central district of the capital city.

Doctors Without Borders has depleted its supply of certain pharmaceuticals often used to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. Additionally, Lavigne reported that asthma inhalers, which are essential for preventing life-threatening attacks, are currently unavailable in the capital.

According to her, the medical personnel at the Doctors Without Borders facility made an attempt to rescue a youngster suffering from a severe asthma attack by administering oxygen. The previous treatment was ineffective, as was an alternative medicine. Ultimately, they administered him with adrenaline, a medication employed in critical situations to manage anaphylactic shock.

“We engage in improvisation and exert our utmost effort for the individuals present,” Lavigne stated.

Doctors Without Borders project coordinator Jacob Burns cautioned that the unavailability of regular medicines for chronic diseases is causing a decline in people’s health.

“The situation worsens and they exhaust all available alternatives,” he stated. Currently, there is a limited range of choices available to specific individuals.

Due to the urgent demand for medical assistance, the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Cite Soleil has been compelled to reduce the daily number of outpatients it attends to from 150 to 50, as stated by Burns. However, all emergency cases are still promptly addressed.

Every day, numerous individuals queue outside the hospital, exposing themselves to the danger of being shot by gang members who dominate the vicinity, all in anticipation of receiving medical attention.

Access to the hospital compound is granted to all individuals, however, the medical personnel have established a triage system to ascertain which 50 individuals will receive medical attention. Burns requested that individuals with less pressing need come back on a different day.

Haiti Health System Nears Collapse As Medicine Dwindles, Gangs Attack Hospitals And Ports Stay Shut

On Friday morning, a 51-year-old individual named Jean Marc Baptiste entered the emergency room with a blood-soaked bandage wrapped over his right hand. He claimed that the day before, while he was gathering firewood to sell as kindling in an area where criminal organizations predominate, law enforcement officers in a heavily protected vehicle fired at him.

Upon entering, the staff proceeded to remove the bandage, exposing a significant laceration on his thumb, causing him to cry out in agony. Lavigne advised him to seek the services of a plastic surgeon, which the hospital lacks, and requested X-rays to confirm the absence of a fracture.

SOURCE – (AP)

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – As the sun sets, a hefty man yells into a megaphone, drawing a curious crowd around him. Next to him is a little cardboard box containing many currencies worth 10 Haitian gourdes, or around 7 US cents.

“Everyone give whatever they have!” the man yells as he grabs the arms and hands of individuals approaching a district in the capital of Port-au-Prince that has been targeted by violent gangs.

The community recently voted to purchase a metal barricade and construct it themselves in an effort to protect inhabitants from the unrelenting violence that killed or maimed over 2,500 people in Haiti between January and March.

HAITI Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Every day, I wake up and find a dead body,” said Noune-Carme Manoune, an immigration officer.

Life in Port-au-Prince has become a survival game, pushing Haitians to their limits as they struggle to keep secure and alive while gangs outnumber the police and the government is mainly absent. Some are erecting metal barricades. Others accelerate aggressively as they approach gang-controlled regions. The few who can afford it hoard water, food, money, and medicine, all of which have become scarce since the main international airport shuttered in early March. Marauding bandits have effectively stopped the country’s largest ports.

“People in the capital are trapped; they have nowhere to go,” stated Philippe Branchat, the International Organization for Migration’s leader in Haiti, in a recent statement. “The capital is surrounded by armed groups and threats. “The city is under siege.”

Phones frequently buzz with warnings reporting gunshots, kidnappings, and fatal shootings, and some shops have so many armed guards that they resemble tiny police stations.

Gang attacks were once limited to specific places, but they can now occur anywhere and at any time. Staying at home does not ensure safety: A stray gunshot hit a man in the back while he was playing with his daughter at home. Others were killed.

Schools and petrol stations are closed, with fuel on the illicit market retailing for $9 per gallon, or about three times the official price. Banks now ban consumers from withdrawing more than $100 per day, and cheques that used to clear in three days now take a month or more. Police officers must wait weeks to be paid.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Everyone is under stress,” said Isidore Gédéon, a 38-year-old guitarist. “People are distrustful of one another following the prison breach. The state does not have control.”

On February 29, gangs with an estimated 80% control of Port-au-Prince initiated coordinated attacks on crucial governmental infrastructure. They set fire to police stations, attacked the airport, and stormed Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing over 4,000 inmates.

At the time, Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya to advocate for the deployment of a police force supported by the United Nations. Henry is still barred from entering Haiti, and a transitional presidential committee charged with appointing the country’s new prime minister and Cabinet might be inaugurated in as soon as this week. Henry has promised to quit once a new leader has been installed.

Few expect that this will be the end of the crisis. Not only are gangs causing bloodshed, but Haitians have also embraced a vigilante movement known as “bwa kale,” which has slain several hundred suspected gang members or associates.

“There are certain communities I can’t go to because everyone is scared of everyone,” he stated. “You could be innocent, and you end up dead.”

In only one month, more than 95,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince as gangs invade towns, torch homes, and kill people in opposing territory.

Those fleeing by bus to Haiti’s southern and northern provinces face the possibility of being gang-raped or killed as they transit through gang-controlled areas where gunmen have opened fire.

According to the International Organization for Migration, violence in the capital has rendered approximately 160,000 people homeless.

“This is hell,” said Nelson Langlois, a producer and camera operator.

Langlois, his wife, and their three children spent two nights sleeping flat on their home’s roof as gangs raided the neighborhood.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Time after time, we peered over to see when we could flee,” he said.

Langlois, who was forced to split up due to a lack of shelter, now lives at a Vodou temple while his wife and children reside somewhere in Port-au-Prince.

Langlois, like the majority of city dwellers, spends much of his time indoors. The days of playing pickup soccer on dirt roads and drinking Prestige beer in pubs while listening to hip-hop, reggae, or African music are over.

“It’s an open-air prison,” Langlois explained.

The violence has also pushed companies, government organizations, and schools to close, leaving many Haitians unemployed.

Manoune, a government immigration official, stated that she has been making money by selling treated water because she is out of work due to postponed deportations.

Meanwhile, Gédéon stated that he no longer plays the drums for a living, saying that pubs and other venues have closed. He sells small plastic bags of water on the street and has worked as a handyman, repairing fans and fixing appliances.

As the crisis worsens poverty in Haiti, students are also entering the workforce.

Sully, a tenth-grade student whose school stopped over two months ago, stood on a street corner in Pétion-Ville, selling fuel he bought on the illegal market.

“You have to be careful,” added Sully, who requested that his last name be omitted for safety reasons. “During the morning it’s safer.”

He sells approximately five gallons every week, earning about $40 for his family, but he can’t afford to join his classmates who are learning online.

Haitians Scramble To Survive, Seeking Food, Water And Safety As Gang Violence Chokes The Capital

“Online class is for people more fortunate than me, who have more money,” he remarked.

The European Union confirmed last week the establishment of a humanitarian air bridge from Panama to Haiti. Five flights arrived in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s only working airport, bringing 62 tons of medicine, water, emergency shelter equipment, and other crucial supplies.However, crucial items cannot be guaranteed to reach those in most need. Many Haitians are still confined in their homes, unable to buy or look for food amid flying gunshots.

According to aid organizations, approximately 2 million Haitians are on the edge of hunger, including over 600,000 children.

Nonetheless, individuals are devising strategies to survive.

Back in the area, residents are putting up a metal barricade, and sparks fly as one man cuts metal while others shovel and mix concrete. They are well into the project and aim to complete it soon.

Others are doubtful, noting accounts of gangs jumping into loaders and other heavy machinery to demolish police stations and, most lately, metal barricades.

SOURCE – (AP)