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  • Trump administration moves to overhaul how H-1B visas are granted, ending lottery system

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    The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say has become a pipeline for overseas workers willing to work for lower pay, but supporters say drives innovation.”The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee on highly skilled workers, which is being challenged in court. The president also rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals.A press release announcing the new rule says it is “in line with other key changes the administration has made, such as the Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.” Historically, H-1B visas have been awarded through a lottery system. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient, with more than 10,000 visas approved, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Apple and Google. California has the highest concentration of H-1B workers.The new system will “implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid” foreign workers, according to Tuesday’s press release. It will go into effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the upcoming H-1B cap registration season.Supporters of the H-1B program say it is an important pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. They say it drives innovation and economic growth in the U.S. and allows employers to fill jobs in specialized fields.Critics argue that the visas often go to entry-level positions rather than senior roles requiring specialized skills. While the program is intended to prevent wage suppression or the displacement of U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay lower wages by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even when the workers hired have more experience.The number of new visas issued annually is capped at 65,000, plus an additional 20,000 for people with a master’s degree or higher.

    WASHINGTON —

    The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it was replacing its longstanding lottery system for H-1B work visas with a new approach that prioritizes skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.

    The change follows a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at reshaping a visa program that critics say has become a pipeline for overseas workers willing to work for lower pay, but supporters say drives innovation.

    “The existing random selection process of H-1B registrations was exploited and abused by U.S. employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers,” said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser.

    Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a $100,000 annual H-1B visa fee on highly skilled workers, which is being challenged in court. The president also rolled out a $1 million “gold card” visa as a pathway to U.S. citizenship for wealthy individuals.

    A press release announcing the new rule says it is “in line with other key changes the administration has made, such as the Presidential Proclamation that requires employers to pay an additional $100,000 per visa as a condition of eligibility.”

    Historically, H-1B visas have been awarded through a lottery system. This year, Amazon was by far the top recipient, with more than 10,000 visas approved, followed by Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, Apple and Google. California has the highest concentration of H-1B workers.

    The new system will “implement a weighted selection process that will increase the probability that H-1B visas are allocated to higher-skilled and higher-paid” foreign workers, according to Tuesday’s press release. It will go into effect Feb. 27, 2026, and will apply to the upcoming H-1B cap registration season.

    Supporters of the H-1B program say it is an important pathway to hiring healthcare workers and educators. They say it drives innovation and economic growth in the U.S. and allows employers to fill jobs in specialized fields.

    Critics argue that the visas often go to entry-level positions rather than senior roles requiring specialized skills. While the program is intended to prevent wage suppression or the displacement of U.S. workers, critics say companies can pay lower wages by classifying jobs at the lowest skill levels, even when the workers hired have more experience.

    The number of new visas issued annually is capped at 65,000, plus an additional 20,000 for people with a master’s degree or higher.

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  • London protest organized by far-right activist exceeds 100,000 as small clashes break out

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    A London march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew more than 100,000 people and became unruly Saturday as a small group of his supporters clashed with police officers who were separating them from counterprotesters.Several officers were punched, kicked and struck by bottles tossed by people at the fringes of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, Metropolitan Police said. Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were deployed to support the 1,000-plus officers on duty.At least nine people were arrested, but police indicated that many other offenders had been identified and would be held accountable.Police estimated that Robinson drew about 110,000 people, while the rival “March Against Fascism” protest organized by Stand Up To Racism had about 5,000 marchers.Anti-migrant themeRobinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded the nationalist and anti-Islam English Defense League and is one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain.The march was billed as a demonstration in support of free speech, with much of the rhetoric by influencers and several far-right politicians from across Europe aimed largely at the perils of migration, a problem much of the continent is struggling to control.“We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture, you and we are being colonized by our former colonies,” far-right French politician Eric Zemmour said.Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and owner of X, who has waded into British politics several times this year, was beamed in by video and condemned the left-leaning U.K. government.“There’s something beautiful about being British, and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion, but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration,” he said.Robinson told the crowd in a hoarse voice that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation.”The marches come at a time when the U.K. has been divided by debate over migrants crossing the English Channel in overcrowded inflatable boats to arrive on shore without authorization.Numerous anti-migrant protests were held this summer outside hotels housing asylum-seekers following the arrest of an Ethiopian man who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a London suburb. Some of those protests became violent and led to arrests.Sea of flagsParticipants in the “Unite the Kingdom” march carried the St. George’s red-and-white flag of England and the union jack, the state flag of the United Kingdom, and chanted, “We want our country back.”U.K. flags have proliferated this summer across the U.K. — at events and on village lampposts — in what some have said is a show of national pride and others said reflects a tilt toward nationalism.Supporters held signs saying “Stop the boats,” “Send them home” and “Enough is enough, save our children.”At the counterprotest, the crowd held signs saying “Refugees welcome” and “Smash the far right,” and shouted, “Stand up, fight back.”Robinson supporters chanted crude refrains about U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour Party, and also shouted messages of support for slain U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk.Several speakers paid tribute to Kirk, who was remembered in a moment of silence, followed by a bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace.”One demonstrator held a sign saying: “Freedom of speech is dead. RIP Charlie Kirk.”Crowd covered blocks of LondonThe crowd at one point stretched from Big Ben across the River Thames and around the corner beyond Waterloo train station, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile (around a kilometer).The marches had been mostly peaceful, but toward the late afternoon, “Unite the Kingdom” supporters threw items at the rival rally and tried to break through barriers set up to separate the groups, police said. Officers had to use force to keep a crowd-control fence from being breached.Counterprotesters heckled a man with blood pouring down his face who was being escorted by police from the group of Robinson supporters. It was not immediately clear what happened to him.While the crowd was large, it fell far short of one of the biggest recent marches when a pro-Palestinian rally drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.Robinson had planned a “Unite the Kingdom” rally last October, but could not attend after being jailed for contempt of court for violating a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him. He previously served jail time for assault and mortgage fraud.

    LONDON —

    A London march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew more than 100,000 people and became unruly Saturday as a small group of his supporters clashed with police officers who were separating them from counterprotesters.

    Several officers were punched, kicked and struck by bottles tossed by people at the fringes of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, Metropolitan Police said. Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were deployed to support the 1,000-plus officers on duty.

    At least nine people were arrested, but police indicated that many other offenders had been identified and would be held accountable.

    Police estimated that Robinson drew about 110,000 people, while the rival “March Against Fascism” protest organized by Stand Up To Racism had about 5,000 marchers.

    Anti-migrant theme

    Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded the nationalist and anti-Islam English Defense League and is one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain.

    The march was billed as a demonstration in support of free speech, with much of the rhetoric by influencers and several far-right politicians from across Europe aimed largely at the perils of migration, a problem much of the continent is struggling to control.

    “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture, you and we are being colonized by our former colonies,” far-right French politician Eric Zemmour said.

    Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and owner of X, who has waded into British politics several times this year, was beamed in by video and condemned the left-leaning U.K. government.

    “There’s something beautiful about being British, and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion, but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration,” he said.

    Robinson told the crowd in a hoarse voice that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation.”

    The marches come at a time when the U.K. has been divided by debate over migrants crossing the English Channel in overcrowded inflatable boats to arrive on shore without authorization.

    Numerous anti-migrant protests were held this summer outside hotels housing asylum-seekers following the arrest of an Ethiopian man who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a London suburb. Some of those protests became violent and led to arrests.

    Sea of flags

    Participants in the “Unite the Kingdom” march carried the St. George’s red-and-white flag of England and the union jack, the state flag of the United Kingdom, and chanted, “We want our country back.”

    U.K. flags have proliferated this summer across the U.K. — at events and on village lampposts — in what some have said is a show of national pride and others said reflects a tilt toward nationalism.

    Supporters held signs saying “Stop the boats,” “Send them home” and “Enough is enough, save our children.”

    Demonstrators take part in the Tommy Robinson-led "Unite the Kingdom" march and rally near Westminster, London, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

    At the counterprotest, the crowd held signs saying “Refugees welcome” and “Smash the far right,” and shouted, “Stand up, fight back.”

    Robinson supporters chanted crude refrains about U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the center-left Labour Party, and also shouted messages of support for slain U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

    Several speakers paid tribute to Kirk, who was remembered in a moment of silence, followed by a bagpiper playing “Amazing Grace.”

    One demonstrator held a sign saying: “Freedom of speech is dead. RIP Charlie Kirk.”

    Crowd covered blocks of London

    The crowd at one point stretched from Big Ben across the River Thames and around the corner beyond Waterloo train station, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile (around a kilometer).

    The marches had been mostly peaceful, but toward the late afternoon, “Unite the Kingdom” supporters threw items at the rival rally and tried to break through barriers set up to separate the groups, police said. Officers had to use force to keep a crowd-control fence from being breached.

    Counterprotesters heckled a man with blood pouring down his face who was being escorted by police from the group of Robinson supporters. It was not immediately clear what happened to him.

    Tommy Robinson speaks during the "Unite the Kingdom" march and rally near Westminster, London, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

    While the crowd was large, it fell far short of one of the biggest recent marches when a pro-Palestinian rally drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.

    Robinson had planned a “Unite the Kingdom” rally last October, but could not attend after being jailed for contempt of court for violating a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him. He previously served jail time for assault and mortgage fraud.

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  • ‘Do not despair,’ Harris tells supporters as she concedes the election

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    WASHINGTON —  Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday acknowledged her defeat to President-elect Donald Trump in a speech marked by emotion as well as a resolve to never give up the fight for a more just union.

    “My heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve,” Harris told supporters at Howard University, her alma mater.

    Harris’ 12-minute speech, behind bulletproof glass in front of the brick, flag-lined Frederick Douglas Memorial Hall, took place less than 24 hours on the site where her supporters had gathered to celebrate what they had hoped would be the election of the first female president.

    On Tuesday night, revelers were dancing to 1990s hip-hop but grew somber as states began falling for Trump. On Wednesday, supporters and staffers embraced, wiped away tears and questioned whether this nation would ever elect a woman, notably a Black woman, president.

    “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris told the crowd. “But … hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.”

    Harris, typically stoic from her days as a prosecutor, displayed flashes of disappointment and sadness after telling the crowd that she was proud of the whirlwind campaign they ran over 107 days after President Biden announced he would not seek reelection.

    “Now, I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it,” she said, with a wry chuckle. “But we must accept the results of this election.”

    The crowd booed when she said that she had spoken with Trump earlier in the day to congratulate him. But as she continued speaking, they soon returned to cheering as she described the peaceful transition of power, which she pledged to assist him with, as a bedrock of democracy.

    “A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Harris said, her voice quivering. “That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States.”

    She did not mention that, before the election, Trump and other leading Republicans had hedged on whether they would accept the results, saying they would have to see if the balloting was conducted fairly and properly.

    However, these statements were clearly an allusion to the former president’s refusal to accept the 2020 election outcome and the ensuing insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress worked to certify the electoral college vote.

    Harris said that while she accepted the election results, she refused to concede the fight for freedom, opportunity and fairness that girded her campaign.

    “That is a fight I will never give up,” she said.

    She implored young people not to give up on fighting for their ideals because of her loss.

    “Do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands,” Harris said. “This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together.”

    She concluded with one of her favorite adages — that the stars can only be seen when the night sky is dark. “I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time,” she said. “For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America. If it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion … stars, the light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service.”

    After Harris concluded speaking and walked back into Memorial Hall, the music stopped playing as crews began dismantling the stage.

    Several current members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the historically Black sorority Harris joined at Howard, gathered in a circle. The young women, wearing dresses in various shades of pink, one of the sorority’s colors, softly sang their national hymn.

    “Through the years as we struggle // With main and with might // To capture a vision fair // There is one thing that spurs us // To victory’s height // With a fellowship sincere and rare // O, Alpha Kappa Alpha // Dear Alpha Kappa Alpha”

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    Seema Mehta

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