Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) got ripped apart on social media after he introduced the idea of creating a new program that would support companies hiring migrant workers over Americans, leading many to refer to Curtis as a Republican In Name Only (RINO). The Patriots Anonymous account on X skewered Curtis, sharing a post he published about his proposed program with a caption that read, “I think, you too, need to become unemployed.”
The Utah senator announced the introduction of a new piece of legislation that would establish a voluntary state-sponsored visa program that would allow state legislatures to hire more temporary migrant workers, effectively enabling those from other countries to come into the U.S. and take jobs from American workers who need them.
The bill, which was co-introduced by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), is similar to legislation that was proposed and ultimately passed in Utah 15 years ago as part of the 2011 Compact on Immigration. However, that bill did not receive federal approval. Should Curtis’ bill pass into law, it would be a huge reform of federal immigration law, allowing states to manage their own guest-worker initiatives based on the demands of local labor.
“I’ve heard time and again from small business owners, farmers, and ranchers across Utah how difficult it has become to hire enough workers to meet growing market demands,” Curtis went on to say in a statement on the bill. According to a report from Deseret, the so-called “bipartisan” program would “help fill the gap” by creating a pilot program for what the article referred to as “uniquely tailored visas” along with “rigorous federal vetting” creating a process to look into complaints of U.S. workers being displaced.
During former President Joe Biden’s time in office, the country saw its highest levels of net immigration in American history, totaling over 8 million entries between the start of his administration at the beginning of 2021 and going until the end of 2024, according to data released by the Census Bureau. The surge in illegal aliens strained services, spiked crime rates, and negatively impacted housing.
This led to the issue becoming one of the most important for voters during the 2024 presidential election, which helped President Donald Trump secure victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris. A Chamber of Commerce report from the end of December 2025 revealed that Utah is currently experiencing a “severe” worker shortage with 96 workers available for every 100 jobs.
Curtis plans to address the situation with his new bill, amending the Immigration and Nationality Act to enable states to hire more migrant workers. Conservative fantasy author Larry Correia responded to Curtis’ post on X, saying, “Senator, I’d love for you to pause and reflect that 1.2 million people read this s**t and it was so dumb that only 243 of them liked it.”
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“Meanwhile you have 3,600 comments, mostly from your constituents telling you how much they don’t want this, who you are ignoring,” Correia concluded. “Difficult to find workers at the wages they want to pay. Great job continuing to crap on Americans to supply cheap foreign labor to your donors. Judas,” another person commented.
Utah employers tell me time and again how difficult it's become to find enough workers to meet growing demands. Our bill allows states to sponsor visas tailored to their unique workforce needs, while ensuring rigorous federal vetting and accountability. https://t.co/9JpEfpVn4s
— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) August 3, 2026