Trump gets all worked up on benefits and future for J1 visas

Donald Trump, if elected president, plans to scrap the J1 visa system, used by many Irish students every year, knowing full well that his own businesses would be affected, writes Jeff Horwitz

IF ELECTED president, Donald Trump has pledged to scrap a work visa programme that brings 300,000 student workers each year to the US. Among the businesses that would be forced to stop hiring foreign labour: Trump’s own.

The J1 visa purports to offer a “cultural exchange” and give US businesses access to guest workers’ “specialised skills”, according to the state department. Trump says it’s simply a conciliatory gesture aimed at corporate interests seeking cheap labour — and that he would replace it “with a [CV] bank for inner-city youth provided to all corporate subscribers to the J1 visa programme.”