5. Department of Homeland Security · Notable
Refuse to raise the H-2B visa cap using discretionary authority
Printed page 138 5. Department of Homeland Security
“The Secretary should make it clear that he or she will not use the Secretary's existing discretionary authority to increase the number of H-2B (seasonal non-agricultural) visas above the statutorily set cap.”
What has happened
- Not started
The Secretary did the opposite of what the Quote asks. Exercising the same time-limited discretionary authority the Mandate wanted disclaimed, DHS and the Department of Labor issued up to 64,716 supplemental H-2B visas above the statutory cap for fiscal year 2026, allocated in three tranches to employers attesting to impending irreparable harm. No statement declining to use the authority was ever made.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
This ask is a restriction on an authority the Secretary chose to use.
- Action
- restrict
- Object
- H-2B visa cap discretionary authority
- ID
- 291