I mean they are cheaper initially, but as they gain experience and knowledge they aren’t cheaper than anyone else. The difference is that initial cost saving blocks a lot of people who are already US citizens from developing those skills and knowledge.
One more reason for employers to invest in their local communities now … This comes down to cheap education. The skills can be acquired cheaper abroad. Companies can provide free education now or pay the 100k which is close to the cost of education here.
Yes I mean Trump's entire economic policy agenda domestically is to enact massive corporate taxes for any company that avoids hiring/training Americans to get cheaper labor from abroad. The problem is that the US has basically depended on importing cheap foreign labor from its inception, thats the basic economic model here and the only reason that countries like China or India don't need external immigration is because they already have internal migration. I remember I was taking a taxi in Kochi once and the driver was complaining about all these northern Indian economic migrants displacing local workers because the wages in South India are much higher than in North India. But the US does not have any poor workers or a peasant population. Unfortunately, all those good, cheap workers are going to end up elsewhere now and the west will probably begin to suffer economic slowdown because their workers don't want to get priced out. Eventually all the borders will come down, since they harm competition.
WSJ reported today that 100 K fees was basically the bone Lutnick threw at the immigration opponent groups in exchange for their support for the $1 million Trump branded Gold card.