Rounds: South Dakota Needs More Foreign Workers for Tourism and Construction
Senator M. Michael Rounds (R) was thrilled to announce that South Dakota is not full and needs more foreign workers to fill out construction and tourism jobs:
The H-2B visa program is an essential tool for South Dakota businesses seeking to fill open seasonal jobs, especially in the tourism and construction industries. While we hope todays announcement will help, the lack of adequate help has already had an adverse impact on these small business owners livelihoods, as well as the entire economy of our state.
It is clear that we need a permanent solution that raises the cap of H-2B visas available to employers each year based on need rather than an arbitrary number. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress, as well as the administration, to find a permanent solution to this issue so our local businesses can thrive [Senator Mike Rounds, press release, quoted on South Dakota Tourism website, 2019.03.29].
Given that the Trump Administration announced the extra 30,000 H-2B visas at the end of March, and given that the feds say it takes at least 60 days to process H-2B applications, South Dakota tourism impresarios may not be able to press their cheap, captive foreign laborers into service in time for the Memorial Day crowds. And the potholes those tourists will encounter (and with this weather, there is much much more such topographical relief on our roads) may go unfilled until later in the season.
http://dakotafreepress.com/2019/04/12/rounds-south-dakota-needs-more-foreign-workers-for-tourism-and-construction/
(no more at link)