US has the highest salaries for software engineers in the world. If this is what suppressed salaries look like, then what do you think they should be paying? I think if the labour pool is further restricted by measures like this one, it can only lead to companies doubling down on opening R&D offices abroad.

They've almost all already doubled down and opened R&D offices abroad. They will do absolutely whatever helps them maximize profits. There are no ethics to it.

American companies shouldn't be able to bribe American politicians into letting them cheat the market at the expense of Americans.

If companies couldn't cheat by importing foreign workers they would have to hire and pay Americans more. They would also lobby for good things, like educating even more Americans to work for them.

The system is corrupt.