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California wants H-1Bs for PE teachers: ‘Not one American who can blow a whistle, run laps, or teach dodgeball?’

December 15, 2025 | | Print Article

Leftist outrage over a White House immigration policy strained credulity where it concerned work visas and a particular kind of school educator.

“What’s next … substitute teachers on OPT?”

Illegal entries haven’t been the only aspect of President Donald Trump’s approach to restoring national sovereignty as part of his America First agenda. Now, as the administration’s effort to use an economic lever to curb unwarranted H-1B visas while adding a financial benefit met lawfare, vocalized concerns suggested Democrats find Americans unsuited to work as gym teachers.

Friday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) joined 19 states in filing a suit against the administration for imposing a $100,000 H-1B visa fee that he argued, “could cause staffing shortages for teachers, physicians, researchers, nurses and other vital workers, endangering CA’s ability to provide critical services.”

In response, Skillstorm co-owner Hany Girgis shared a story from the nonprofit news organization CalMatters that turned a focus on a foreign-born gym teacher and wrote, “So California needs H-1Bs for PE teachers now??? Not a single credentialed American who can blow a whistle, run laps, or teach dodgeball? What’s next … substitute teachers on OPT (Optional Practical Training?) Crossing guards on L-1s? That’s not a labor shortage. That’s a wage and policy problem. Calling that an ‘H-1B shortage’ is malpractice.”

As had been reported in September, a proclamation from Trump had imposed the fee on the 35-year-old program with an official contending, “… it’ll protect American workers, but ensure that companies have a pathway to hire truly extraordinary people and bring them to the United States.”

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The CalMatters report cited data from the California Department of Education that indicated H-1B visa applications from school districts and county offices had roughly doubled in recent years. It also touted concerns of those who applied for work visas, like a current California gym teacher who’d relocated his family from Mexico to the United States, as he believed she would be safer in America than her native land.

Among those reacting to the apparent position from Democrats that America’s native-born workforce is somehow incapable or unwilling to do certain jobs, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who’d embarked on his own mission to curb H-1B visa abuse in the Sunshine State, captioned Girgis’s post, “Another example of how H1B visas are used to hire foreigners when an American could easily fill the roll…”

Piggybacking off America’s Governor’s post, reactions made the case for investigations into the legitimacy of applications for H-1B visas as well as the teachers’ unions as one suggested, “There is always another layer of scamming beneath the first level. Time to investigate further. Who (exactly) is making money off of H-1B teachers and how?” while another argued, “Putting a fee on H-1B’s is arguably the most brilliant move of the Trump admin. Now they ALL get surfaced.”

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Kevin Haggerty
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