Tech Lobby Sees Chance for More Visas
“Silicon Valley is upbeat that in 2013, Washington will finally deliver a fix for its high-skilled immigration woes, shaking off its fatalism over failed attempts in the past. A lot has changed since the last big push for comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, industry leaders say. The public and Congress are more supportive of addressing the skills gap. Entrepreneurs are ready to use social media to step up the pressure. And tech leaders are organizing like never before to secure commitments from congressional leaders on specifics,” Politico reports.
Rubio Plan Expands Mandatory E-Verify Nationally
“Stuck within the pages of Sen. Marco Rubio’s bipartisan immigration reform bill is a measure that would expand the use of a national government database on American workers . . .If Mr. Rubio’s bill passes, employers nationwide would be prohibited from hiring any workers who have not been cleared through the federal E-Verify system,” the Washington Times says.
It Takes a Harvard Economist to Make An Argument This Bad
“As an economist, I am often surprised at the hostility that some segments of the population express toward immigration. Most members of my profession are far more receptive to it, and for three main reasons,” says N. Gregory Mankiw, former advisor to President Bush in the New York Times.
“The competition from foreign-born economists makes it harder for American economists to get the best positions. But it would be hypocritical for American economists to argue against such competition, as we have long preached that nations are better off over all when they pursue a policy of free and open trade. This principle applies not only to manufactured goods like textiles and aircraft but also to labor services, including lectures on economics.”
“I understand that not all workers in the United States will embrace foreign-born competitors with the same equanimity as a Harvard professor. That is especially true of those with fewer skills and opportunities.”
Less Population Pressure in Latin America May Mean Reduced Migration
“It’s not a coincidence that sub-replacement countries — such as Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Costa Rica — send the U.S. barely any immigrants at all. The vast majority of our immigrants come from above-replacement countries, such as Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. But even though they’re still above-replacement, those countries are witnessing epic fertility declines too,” Jonathan Last says in the LA Times.
“Consider Mexico, which over the last 30 years has sent roughly two-thirds of all the immigrants — legal and illegal — who came to the United States. In 1970, the Mexican fertility rate was 6.72. Today, it’s hovering at the 2.1 mark — a drop of nearly 70% in just two generations. And it’s still falling.”
“Certainly some of [the decline in illegal immigration]can be attributed to the Great Recession, particularly the slowdown in construction and the housing industry. But we may also be witnessing the beginning of a structural change in our immigration relationship, as Mexico’s demographic profile comes to resemble Puerto Rico’s.”
10 Comments
Just visit any major data center, corporate back office, or university research lab and you will find that Americans are in the minority, if they are even present at all.
American workers, both white collar and blue collar, have become roadkill on the superhighway to the New World Order.
The prevailing wage provisions of the H-1B Visa regulations allow employers to legally pay foreign workers less than what American workers would earn. Furthermore, for a small amount of money, employers can sponsor the foreign workers for a green card. Once that happens, the H-1B people run the risk of having to re-start the lengthy green card process if they change jobs for better pay and benefits. Thus, they become indentured servants to their employers for years to come. That is why the tech industry is always pushing for more high tech visas.
If there is anything that proves that the push for high tech visas is not really about some “shortage of workers”, it’s the fact that guys like Bill Gates have long been pushing for UNLIMITED visas. Not just their CLAIMED shortfall that needs to be filled, but a never ending uncapped flow. And then American students get preached at with admonitions to get a higher education. In other words, run up all kinds of debt you cannot pay for at the peanut wages industry wants to pay you.
Leland I am not sure you are accurate and precise on your assessment, especially when you have been out of school for so long…………..at least 10+ years ago…………a very small percentage or engineers and computer scientist students were Americans……………and guess what………? as far as I know they all got jobs……………………..nowadays I am sure the percent is even smaller of American students in science careers such as the ones I just mentioned…..
As Far as You Know They All Got Jobs?
We’ve basically closed down NASA, outsourced 80-90% of American automtive engineers and we hardly make anything in America anymore….why do we need engineers anymore?
The Root Cause of America’s Current Economic Problems Can be directly linked to globalism stealing our product development engineering and manufacturing; then the subsequent overpopulation debt to add “temporary phony jobs” bulding masses of glue board shacks on credit for all the new foreign arrivals….with no jobs for them anyway. if we stay on this overpopulation debt course of “no need for engineering product development” service economy; the canary in our “Titanic sinking economy” mine is the engineer. When the engineer is a dead canary, all the rest of our American jobs and professions are about dead too. Its the first domino.
You’re right about Gates, all he and Google really needs mostly are technicals with a bit of Community College; we can train hoards of legal Americans to become mentees in high tech in a couple years….at livable wages Gates won’t pay. Its worth the cost to hire American Yankee Ingenuity though, the insourced foreigner overpopulation crops are currently producing junk destroying MSFT and Google reputation(s).
SW Engineer it is clear your professional field is not in the Technology World of Telecommunications so your answer measures up to your response nad lack of information and our reality.
What Do You Do For a Living?
Are you one of those organised crime leaders for Apple that gets out of more than half of their income taxes by off shore tax evasion? Do you even have a degree?
BTW; my field of engineering needs real tech talent with degrees; unlike the college dropout Bill Gates….
John Winthrop, the reason there are fewer American kids enrolled in STEM degree programs is because they have learned that many American engineers and technologists have been driven out of those industries in favor of foreign workers. Really now, why would a young, smart, ambitious American student rack up huge student loan debt just to try to get into an industry where they will be continually discriminated against in favor of foreign nationals who are desperate to get green cards?
Abigail I wish that were true but not really. If an American in MIT, Rutgers, Urbana Champagne, Stanford etc etc shows real talent in engineering, will get the scholarships and end up either as a future post doctorate or Phd Research professor or working for a successful Engineering company………….some go for money to become engineers then they find out that is not 100% true …..trust me in what I am saying……..if the student has the talent AND LOVE the profession and BELIEVES in himself/herself…….the future will take care of itself most times…in any case a fulfilling life.
software engineer unlike yourself I am a real Engineer that does both SW and HW and I do not BS my way into anything like you probably do. I have patents and worked for major Telecommunications Engineering Companies with probably products you buy I have designed.
However I do not call myself CE or SWE or EE or Engineer for that matter…..Engineering for me it is a way of life…the American Way……..no entitlements nor titles.
Gates is a successful business man. He bought the OS and became a wealthy man what have you done worth comparing to his wealth & success?……he is an american and should be respected as such.
So far the facts I see how you interpret and your ability to comprehend…..leads me to believe you have no real tech talent……..it shows you copied your way through school and never developed your intellect as you know SW Engineering is big in using critical thinking and logic besides mathematics…..you strike me like an IT guy or website designer…..nothing high tech but low tech.
You want real engineering you should try to have a job where you work w/engineers from all over the World from all disciplines and high degrees so that you become mature and humbled and perhaps if you have any children you give this country a chance because so far I know you give none.
I am rarely mistaken when I say these things after I process and analyze all your comments about my writing and me. You should be happy, you still have a job where you hardly have to put any effort and collect the money but be careful you are not that young an if you do not keep on challenging yourself and learn as you get older you will be obsolete unless you might already be so.
Thin about what I said,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I do know you are not talent compared to the American I work with and immigrant scientists……no comkparison…….,,