Newsmaker plans to examine H-1B visa program, lawsuit against Trump agency, April 8

Abuse of the H-1B visa program and a related lawsuit against a company founded by and associated with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump by a Jamaican fashion model is the topic of a National Press Club Newsmaker news conference at 10 a.m., Friday, April 8, in the NPC's Zenger Room.

Like all Newsmakers events, this news conference is open to credentialed media and NPC members, free of charge. No advance registration is required.

The H-1B program, used chiefly to bring highly-skilled engineers, scientists and other foreign-born professionals into the United States, has burst into prominence during the presidential campaign with Trump’s call for tougher rules that would restrict its use.

Meanwhile, Trump Talent Management, a modeling agency started by Donald Trump in 1999, is being sued by Jamaican fashion model Alexis Palmer for paying her $3,880.75 during a three-year period rather than a promised $75,000 per year. Trump’s firm had sponsored Palmer, the recipient of an H-1B visa.

Speakers at the news conference are expected to be:

• Naresh M. Gehi: New York-based immigration/labor lawyer and attorney for Alexis Palmer. Gehi plans to discuss Palmer’s claims, his experiences with foreign workers who have entered the country under H-1B visas, the benefits of the program and possible reform to further ensure that workers’s rights are protected.


• Ron Hira: Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University and a national expert on immigration and employment policy.


• Greg Junemann: President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, representing scientists, engineers and technical workers across the United States

In a March GOP debate held at the University of Miami, Trump said that the H-1B program is "very, very bad for workers." He also has acknowledged using the program in his own businesses. “I know the H-1B very well, it’s something that I frankly use,” he said.