The executive order he signed at Snap-On Tools, a Kenosha, Wis., based manufacturer, also orders a review of the H-1B visa program for skilled workers, with the goal of reforming the program.
He announced that the government is about to take "bold, new steps" to follow through on his pledge to "Buy American and Hire American".
The additional scrutiny DHS has ordered will include "site visits" to determine whether "H-1B dependent employers are evading their obligation to make a good faith effort to recruit US workers", the Trump administration says.
As for the labor component of Trump's executive order, foreign visa programs require a level of labor predictability that construction companies rarely have, so that portion of the order should have limited impact on the industry in general. The Secretary of Commerce will be tasked with streamlining the existing rules.
The Trump administration said that if the waivers are not benefiting the USA they will be "renegotiated or revoked".
During his campaign, Trump said he supported high-skilled visas but later came out against them.
"It's very hard, either they're not qualified, and one of the big things, it's a seasonal job", he said.
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That's what I've fought for all my life and for now I'm not going to be fighting for those things in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister has refused to get drawn in saying she'll debate the issues with voters across the country instead.
Critics argue that the order will make materials for transportation and other public works projects more expensive and could even derail Trump's proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Set by Congress. Changing the way visas are allocated...
United States lawmakers have already tabled more than half adozen legislations in the Congress with specific proposals to reform and improve the H-1B visas systems.
But the White House hopes that signing the decree will build momentum before a possible legislative reform.
Technology companies, in particular, have used H-1B visas to recruit low-wage foreign workers, according to the New York Times.
The staffing companies then sell their services to corporate clients who use them to outsource tech work. The Associated Press reports that employers as diverse as Walt Disney World and the University of California at San Francisco have furloughed tech employees and replaced them with H-1B workers.
The tech industry has argued that the H-1B programme is needed because it encourages students to stay in the U.S. after getting degrees in high-tech specialties, and that they can not always find enough American workers with the skills they need.
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