In the News
Goodlatte and Issa Defend Cutting Diversity Visa Program
SOURCE: The Hill’s Hillicon Valley Blog House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced an immigration bill on Thursday that they said would boost the technology industry in the United States and create more jobs for Americans. Issa, the lead sponsor of the bill, said the current immigration system forces foreign graduates who have been trained at America’s best universities out of the country after they have received their diplomas in technical fields — and his legislation aims to rectify that. “That has to stop. That’s just wrong,” Issa said at press conference where he unveiled… Read More »
The Circuit: STEM Visa Bill
SOURCE: The Washington Post’s Post Tech Blog Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) Thursday unveiled a new bill that would make it easier for foreign-born students studying for advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to stay in the country by opening 55,000 green cards to qualifying students, increasing the number of highly skilled H1-B visas available to non-students and includes a special type of visa for entrepreneurs. The act, called the Supplying Knowledge Based Immigrants and Lifting Levels of STEM Visas (or SKILLS) Act, has the support of several technology industry groups including the Consumer Electronics… Read More »
Tech, Labor Brandish Dueling Studies in Immigration Fight
SOURCE: Reuters At the heart of the debate is whether there is a shortage of Americans with the math and science skills needed for work at technology firms like Facebook Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp. Labor is brandishing research that says the scarcity of workers is a myth while the tech industry is pointing to other studies that say the shortage is very real and is a threat to U.S. competitiveness. In behind-the-scenes maneuvering that has created a quandary for Senate supporters of a broad immigration bill, lobbyists say Silicon Valley is pulling out all the stops to fight… Read More »
Study: High-Skilled Immigration Good for the Economy
SOURCE: Compete America For generations, highly skilled labor in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been a catalyst for innovation, job creation, and rising standards of living in America. And these highly innovative STEM workers have long been not just native-born Americans but immigrants as well. Immigration has played a vital role in helping American companies meet their growing demand for skilled labor-demand that absent immigration would be growing well ahead of supply, forcing companies and the country to endure a talent crunch. This white paper delivers three central messages. Message #1: Talent–especially the talent of highly educated STEM… Read More »
Senate Judiciary Begins Immigration Bill Markup on Thursday
SOURCE: The Hill’s Hillicon Valley Blog The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin working its way through the roughly 300 amendments to the Gang of Eight’s sweeping immigration bill on Thursday. Tech observers will be keeping a close eye on amendments offered by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), but for different reasons. Hatch’s amendments are generally favorable to the tech industry because they would bring the immigration reform bill more in line with the Immigration Innovation Act, or I-Squared, that he introduced earlier this year. The I-Squared bill proposes to free up more green cards for highly skilled… Read More »
Politico Influence for May 2, 2013
SOURCE: Politico STEM COALITION ADDS THREE NEW MEMBERS: The inSPIRE STEM USA coalition has added three new members – EMC Corporation, National Math + Science Initiative, and the National Association For Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. The coalition is pushing for a national fund in immigration reform for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and computer science education. … Read the full article »
STEM Visa Advocates Criticize EPI Report
SOURCE: The Business Journal Not surprisingly, the report by the Economic Policy Institute released Wednesday that found plenty of workers training in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields is drawing criticism from those who say there’s a real shortage. The point of the EPI study, that group said, was that there is no need to loosen the immigration restrictions on guestworkers with such skills since doing so could depress wages for U.S. workers. A group called “inSPIRE STEM USA” responded to that study by calling it “an inaccurate portrayal of America’s STEM shortage and a shortsighted unwillingness to… Read More »
inSPIRE STEM USA’s Maria Cardona on a Mission to Help Hispanic & Black Communities Embrace STEM Education
SOURCE: Hinterland Gazette A bipartisan group of U. S. senators, the Gang of 8, unveiled their immigration plan Thursday. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on Friday and another one on Monday. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the bill won’t go through the markup process until May, which will give the public more time to read the more than 800 pages of the proposed legislation. inSPIRE STEM USA is hard at work to address the crisis we see today with a severe shortage of qualified workers in STEM fields and is pushing for lawmakers to address immigration… Read More »
Politico Influence for April 16, 2013
SOURCE: Politico TOYOTA JOINS STEM COALITION: The inSPIRE (Supporting Productive Immigration Reform and Education) STEM USA coalition – a group fighting for more investments and focus on science and technology education and hiring – has added three new members. Toyota, the American Association of School Administrators, and the Business Council of New York State have all joined the coalition. The coalition has been pushing for Senate negotiators to include a STEM component in the comprehensive immigration reform bill currently being written. “Congress will not be able to fix the STEM jobs crisis without investing in the U.S. STEM education pipeline,”… Read More »
Businesses Gear Up for Fight as Immigration Details Leak
SOURCE: Politico The business community has long supported the idea of immigration reform – particularly the high-tech sector and the construction industry, which badly need the workers. What they don’t support are some of the specifics leaking out on a new immigration reform proposal expected Tuesday from the Gang of Eight. Now, companies and trade groups – that have been pressuring the key Senate negotiators – are preparing to unleash their lobbying forces broadly on Capitol Hill in hopes of securing changes to the package. … Companies like Microsoft, Intel, IBM, Expedia and education groups are also doing meetings on… Read More »