> look at the vast swaths of HN that are cheering on this.

One possible explanation: the hiring market is dead for low tier devs (and mid tier ones are probably feeling the heat too). This is not caused by H1B, since this drought is recently new but visas have been around for a very long time.

Still, people panic and look for someone to blame. "This decision looks like it reduces dev supply, so my skills will be more in demand? Sounds good, let's go!"