Employment and Wages
New Study Finds Systematic Bias in Labor Certification Process
In most cases, when an employer is interested in hiring a foreign national to work in the United States on a permanent basis, a permanent labor certification from the Department of Labor (DOL) is necessary. When required, the DOL must certify to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services… Read More
Why Immigration Helps African American Employment
An old myth about African Americans and immigrants resurfaced on Monday thanks to a series of over-reactions to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) procurement order. In the complicated world of government procurement, the government has to plan for purchases far in advance, even if it ultimately doesn’t purchase… Read More
Iranian-American Woman Breaks Glass Ceiling with Math Prize
The Fields Medal is frequently called the “Nobel Prize” of mathematics, and since it was first awarded in 1936, 16 of the 28 honorees affiliated with United States institutions were foreign-born, including two of the medals awarded last week. But before last week, a woman had never won the… Read More
Nativist Group Falsely Blames Immigrants for Unemployment in Tennessee
From the narrow, nativist perspective of groups such as the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), every immigrant worker who enters the U.S. economy is stealing a job from a native-born worker. In this view of the world, employment is a zero-sum game in which immigrants and the native-born… Read More
H-1B Visa Cap for Higher Skilled Workers Maxed Out in Record Time
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Monday that the allotment of H-1B visas for the 2015 fiscal year, known as the H-1B visa cap, has been filled—a week after filing began. The principal temporary visa for skilled professionals, the H-1B allows U.S. Read More
Broken H-1B Visa Program is Costing American Jobs
Compete America, an association of high-tech companies advocating for reform of immigration policies affecting higher-skilled workers, launched a job loss calculator today estimating the numbers of American jobs lost due to the lack of H-1B visas, the primary work visa for higher-skilled… Read More
Mayors Agree, Immigrants Make Their Cities More Economically Competitive
“Mayors are looking for a fix,” said Mayor Scott Smith of Mesa Arizona, President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “The status quo is not acceptable. It's as simple as that.” In a January 31 letter to Members of Congress, the United States Conference of Mayors urged expeditious action on immigration reform in 2014. As the letter stated: “Fixing our nation’s broken immigration laws is among the most important issues of interest to America’s mayors currently before the U.S. House of Representatives. We believe strongly that maintaining the status quo will further damage the economic, political and social structure of our cities and our country. As Mayors, we have a ground-level understanding of the pressing economic and moral imperatives that necessitate changing our national immigration system, and we urge the House to expeditiously bring legislation to the floor.” Read More
Health Worker Shortages & the Potential of Immigration Policy
Foreign-born and foreign-trained professionals play an important role in the delivery of health care in the United States. This report examines the important role of immigrant doctors and nurses – many of whom have received their training abroad – in the U.S. health industry, using new Census Bureau data as well as information from numerous interviews with health industry experts. Read More
Senator Jeff Sessions Has Erroneously Blamed Immigrants for U.S. Income Inequality
Despite the formal end of the recession in 2009, unemployment in the United States remains high, wages are still stagnant, and economic indices of all kinds are looking grim. A crisis of this magnitude requires bold action by U.S. lawmakers to realign U.S. economic policies in ways that promote the growth of both jobs and wages. Economists across the political spectrum agree that immigration reform—including a pathway to legal status for unauthorized immigrants already living here—should be a central part of any such effort to boost the economy. Nevertheless, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) thinks he knows better. In his opinion, what we need to do to alleviate the nation’s economic woes is to derail immigration reform. Apparently, if we can hang on to our broken immigration system a little longer, there will be brighter days ahead for the U.S. economy. Read More
Michigan to Immigrants: You’re Welcome Here
It is clear that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder understands that immigration can be a potent boost to his state’s economy. It’s also an important component of economic revitalization for a city such as Detroit. Improving the nation’s broken immigration system could have enormous economic benefits for Michigan and states across the country, so Snyder joined former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, in Washington Friday to continue urging lawmakers to overhaul the U.S. immigration system. As Gutierrez explained, “Our laws aren’t serving our economy.” And Bloomberg noted that it is terrible economic policy to turn away foreign born entrepreneurs and innovators while also making it difficult for foreign-born graduates to remain in the country after earning degrees from our colleges and universities. State leaders recognize this as well, but they also know upgrading immigration laws requires congressional action. “We need comprehensive immigration reform. Bottom line,” Snyder said Friday. “To be blunt, we have a dumb system.” Read More
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