Am I a racist or protectionist?

[TechBear_Seattle]

Here is the situation: I am the senior programmer (actually, the only programmer) for a mid-size brokerage firm in Seattle. We are about to begin a major project, and are looking to hire a second programmer for about a year.

My boss, who's the head of the IT department, has set his sights on a guy from India who has been in the US for four years on a H-1B tech worker visa. I know a number of Americans with similar high qualifications and strong background, but my boss will not even look at their resumes.

Two years ago we hired out a project, which went to some friends in China. I raised objections, saying that there are US companies at least as qualified to do the work which would help improve the poor job market for tech in the area (Seattle and environs is still recovering from the glut of workers created by the dot com bust.) He cited "fiscal responsibility to the company" to get the cheapest rate for the work; further objections met with hostile silence and a contract being signed without any input from me. Because of this, I am unwilling to point out that there are American programmers who are just as qualified and who will do the same work for the same pay, and that we can improve our community by keeping the money local rather than having it shipped out of the country.

I don't think I'm being protectionist or anti-non-American, and I don't think I'm racist in my concerns; I just feel that we should be supporting local workers who are being forced out of jobs by off-shoring and the H-1B program. But then, few protectionists, xenophobes and racists can honestly acknowledge their motives.

Your thoughts?