Ron DeSantis made his career taking on entrenched interests in Florida.
Now he's causing headaches for some powerful people in Donald Trump's orbit.
And Ron DeSantis just gave universities one order that is making Trump's inner circle sweat.
The H-1B visa program was created in 1990 to help American companies hire top foreign talent when qualified Americans couldn't be found.
Congress sold it as a way to bring "the best and brightest" to help American innovation.
That's not what happened.
Universities discovered a loophole Big Tech couldn't resist
Instead, the program became a pipeline for cheap foreign labor that companies use to replace American workers.
Disney forced tech workers to train their foreign replacements before firing them.¹
The University of California did the same thing.²
Southern California Edison laid off 540 American tech workers and made them train the H-1B visa holders who took their jobs.³
Universities figured out they had it even better than corporations.
They're exempt from the federal cap of 85,000 new H-1B visas per year.⁴
That means Florida's public universities can hire foreign workers year-round while private companies have to compete for limited slots.
The University of Florida alone employs 156 workers on H-1B visas right now.⁵
The University of South Florida has 72 more.⁶
Florida State University brings in 67 foreign workers under the program.⁷
DeSantis looked at who these universities are hiring and didn't like what he found.
An assistant swim coach from Spain.
A clinical assistant professor from the West Bank.
Marketing specialists and graphic designers.
"Are you kidding me?" DeSantis asked at a press conference at the University of South Florida. "We can't produce an assistant swim coach in this country?"⁸
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1983566157387817325?s=20
Florida is putting American graduates first
DeSantis directed the Florida Board of Governors to end H-1B visa hiring at state universities.
The move puts Florida taxpayer dollars behind American workers instead of cheap foreign labor.
"Universities across the country are importing foreign workers on H-1B visas instead of hiring Americans who are qualified and available to do the job," DeSantis said. "We will not tolerate H-1B abuse in Florida institutions."⁹
The timing creates a problem for some people close to President Trump.
Trump raised H-1B visa fees from around $2,500 to $100,000 in September to crack down on abuse.¹⁰
But Trump's endorsed candidate for Florida governor, U.S. Representative Byron Donalds, is getting heat from DeSantis allies over H-1B visas.
DeSantis lieutenant Christina Pushaw called out Congressional Republicans for talking tough on H-1B visas without actually introducing legislation to end the program.
"Congress is the only institution in this country that can end H-1B indentured servitude replacement of American workers," Pushaw wrote on X. "So when sitting members of congress talk about how they want to 'end H-1B', I wonder why they haven't introduced any legislation that would do that?"¹¹
DeSantis piled on by calling out what he sees as empty rhetoric from Washington.
"Republicans have a majority in Congress and could legislate elimination of H1B (and any programs designed to import cheap foreign labor)," DeSantis wrote. "Deeds, not words, are what matter."¹²
https://twitter.com/LegendaryEnergy/status/1988418515112784069?s=20
Donalds told podcaster Benny Johnson that "the H-1B system is a complete scam" and called for a complete overhaul of the country's 56 different visa programs.¹³
But tech billionaire Elon Musk, who plays a major role in the Trump administration through the Department of Government Efficiency, endorsed Donalds for governor anyway.
Musk sparked controversy in December 2024 when he vowed to "go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend" while defending the H-1B program.¹⁴
James Fishback, an investor considering a run for Florida governor, is attacking Donalds over Musk's endorsement.
Fishback posted a message on X calling Donalds "H-1Byron" and saying Musk's support proves both of them "hate talented American workers."¹⁵
https://twitter.com/j_fishback/status/1985379479913406685?s=20
The data proves American workers are getting pushed out
The research backs up what DeSantis and other critics are saying about H-1B visa abuse.
Companies laid off at least 85,000 workers in 2022 and early 2023 while the top 30 H-1B employers hired 34,000 new foreign workers.¹⁶
Computer science graduates face unemployment rates of 6.1% while computer engineering graduates see 7.5% unemployment.¹⁷
That's more than double the rate for biology and art history majors.
Tech workers' unemployment jumped from 1.98% in 2019 to 3.02% in 2025.¹⁸
One software company got approved for over 5,000 H-1B workers the same year it announced layoffs totaling more than 15,000 employees.¹⁹
The program was supposed to attract extraordinary talent.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1970875657493385217?s=20
Former U.S. Department of Labor immigration official Demetrious Papademetriou watched the program up close and saw something completely different.
"These are basically run-of-the-mill people with a degree and some skills," Papademetriou said. "It seems to me that it is important that we distinguish between people who are truly skilled—who have unique, specialized skills—and people who simply provide labor."²⁰
Universities hire foreign professors, doctors and researchers through H-1B visas.
They argue it's necessary to meet needs in specialized fields like healthcare and engineering.
But DeSantis is looking at the specific positions universities are filling and questioning whether they really need to import foreign workers.
Robert Cassanello, president of the United Faculty of Florida, defended the program by arguing universities can't find enough qualified American applicants for science and math positions.
"DeSantis is speaking out of both sides his mouth," Cassanello said. "He is actively trying to remove any and all autonomy of governing our public colleges and universities from the people who run them day to day."²¹
DeSantis isn't buying it.
Florida's universities should be producing enough skilled graduates to fill these positions themselves.
If they're not, that's a failure of Florida's education system that taxpayers are paying twice to fix.
The H-1B fight is exposing tensions between different factions of the Republican Party.
Some see the visa program as essential for American competitiveness.
Others view it as a scam that corporations and universities use to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor.
DeSantis is betting Florida voters care more about American jobs than corporate profit margins.
¹ Economic Policy Institute, "New evidence of widespread wage theft in the H-1B visa program," February 2021.
² Ibid.
³ Wikipedia, "H-1B visa," November 2025.
⁴ The White House, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," September 19, 2025.
⁵ Orlando Sentinel, "DeSantis wants Florida universities to 'pull the plug' on H-1B staff from foreign countries," Steven Walker, October 29, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ WUSF, "DeSantis tells state universities to 'pull the plug' on hiring foreign workers through H-1B," October 29, 2025.
⁹ Governor Ron DeSantis, "Governor Ron DeSantis Directs Florida Board of Governors to Crack Down on H-1B Visa Abuse," November 15, 2025.
¹⁰ The White House, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," September 19, 2025.
¹¹ The Daily Caller, "DeSantis World Goes To War With H1B Visas As Trump Faces Blowback From Base," Reagan Reese, November 14, 2025.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ Axios, "Trump sides with Musk in H-1B fight as billionaire pledges 'war' to protect the visas," December 28, 2024.
¹⁵ NBC News, "James Fishback roils the Florida governor's race with his expected pro-Ron DeSantis bid," Matt Dixon, November 13, 2025.
¹⁶ Economic Policy Institute, "Tech and outsourcing companies continue to exploit the H-1B visa program at a time of mass layoffs," May 2023.
¹⁷ The White House, "Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers," September 19, 2025.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ CBS News, "How H-1B visas have been abused since the beginning," August 13, 2017.
²¹ Orlando Sentinel, "DeSantis wants Florida universities to 'pull the plug' on H-1B staff from foreign countries," Steven Walker, October 29, 2025.
