Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback has pledged to eliminate the H-1B visa program if elected, claiming it negatively impacts job prospects for American workers and disproportionately benefits Indian immigrants. He stated that recent college graduates in Florida are struggling to find jobs due to the influx of foreign workers, particularly in entry-level IT and accounting roles. “We are the smartest and most capable people on Earth. Hiring cheap foreign labor, especially from India and China, is unacceptable,” said the 30-year-old investor.
Fishback controversially asserted that immigrants, including naturalized citizens, should not be part of the “American dream” and criticized immigrants from India, who receive the majority of H-1B visas. He emphasized that his criticism is not anti-immigrant but pro-American, stating, “I don’t hate immigrants, but I love our own people.”
He vowed to dismiss all H-1B visa workers employed in Florida state agencies and cancel contracts with companies that prefer foreign workers over qualified Floridians. Fishback also accused fellow Republican candidate Byron Donalds of favoring corporations over American workers, calling him “H-1Byron” in a post targeting his support for H-1B sponsors.
Despite being a Trump supporter, Fishback criticized the former President’s endorsement of high-skilled visa programs. Calling for a complete halt on legal immigration, he argued that today’s immigration is vastly different from what it was decades ago.
James Fishback is a 30-year-old investor and founder of Azoria, an investment firm launched in 2023. Raised by a Colombian immigrant mother and a bus driver father, he dropped out of Georgetown University to start his career in finance. He presents himself as a conservative outsider committed to “America First” policies.
