Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton has been an advocate for restrictive immigration policies, often in lockstep with the Trump administration. | Alex Wong/Getty Images employment & immigration Tom Cotton pans Trump plan to allow more foreign guest workers

Sen. Tom Cotton, a close ally of President Donald Trump, issued a scathing criticism of the administration's plans to allow 30,000 additional foreign guest workers in the United States this year.

The Homeland Security and Labor departments will allow visas for 30,000 returning guest workers who were employed in the United States in recent years according to the Federal Register. Many people in both parties support increasing the number of seasonal workers each year, but the Arkansas Republican and immigration hard-liner said the U.S "immigration system should prioritize the needs of U.S. citizens over cheap foreign labor."


"Allowing an additional 30,000 seasonal workers into the country forces Americans to compete for jobs against non-citizens who drag down wages. We should be setting immigration policies that support wage growth and employment for Americans instead of encouraging a race to the bottom by importing low-cost labor," Cotton said.

Cotton has been an advocate for restrictive immigration policies, often in lockstep with the administration. To great fanfare in 2017, Cotton and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) introduced legislation backed by Trump that would cut legal immigration.

Ted Hesson contributed to this report.