BlazeTV’s Sara Gonzales’ H-1B investigations earn Dao journalism prize finalist spot

Since 2023, the Dao Feng and Angela Foundation, in partnership with Young America’s Foundation’s National Journalism Center, has given a set of annual awards for journalism it calls accurate, courageous, and in the public interest — a counter to what the organizers describe as a media establishment that “protects power rather than challenges it.”Former winners include Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and Bari Weiss for the Twitter Files; Susan Crabtree for her Secret Service reporting; and the Federalist for its series on the Russia collusion story.This year, BlazeTV's Sara Gonzales is a finalist in the multimedia category for her investigation of H-1B visa abuse in Texas — a $10,000 prize. Winners will be announced November 19 in Washington, D.C.Gonzales has spent over a year investigating businesses in North Texas that sponsor H-1B workers. Again and again, the address on file was a home residence, an empty office, or a space with no signs of any business operations. Several of Gonzales’ visits turned into heated confrontations, but the end results were always fruitful.Her work has drawn multiple official responses. Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) opened an investigation into suspected H-1B abuse by Texas businesses, first sending civil investigative demands to three North Texas companies and later expanding the probe to nearly 30, crediting Gonzales with getting it started.Governor Greg Abbott (R) froze new H-1B petitions at state agencies and public universities through May 2027 and ordered a review of how those institutions were already using the program. By summer, Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito had joined her in Dallas as the federal probe moved into the same companies she had been filming.Gonzales’ eight exposés follow the same pattern. She finds a North Texas-based company approved to sponsor H-1B workers, visits the address on file, and films what actually takes place there: a house, an empty office, a day care with no children, a food truck.Several visits turned into arguments. In more than one, someone called the police. Later installments went farther, including workers who say they paid for visas they never received and a sponsor accused of not paying the employees he had brought in. That reporting is what the Dao Prize judges singled out. Asked about the nomination, Gonzales said, “It’s very rewarding to see my hard work in uncovering H-1B fraud being recognized alongside so many other great journalists.”To see Gonzales root out H-1B corruption and fraud that costs American workers their jobs and taxpayers their money, watch the video above. Check back in November to find out if she takes home a prize.Editor’s note: Blaze News editor in chief Christopher Bedford is a member of the Dao Prize committee. Like the other members of the committee, he is unable to vote on nominations from his own organization.Want more from Sara Gonzales?To enjoy more of Sara's no-holds-barred takes on news and culture, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.