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How Immigrant Entrepreneurs Fare in the New Immigration Bill
With the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote last week to pass S.744 on to the Senate floor, a new proposal for spurring immigrant entrepreneurship and innovation will be before Congress. Title IV, Subtitle H of the bill creates the INVEST visa (Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies) for immigrant entrepreneurs. This new visa program […]
Read MoreExperts from Left and Right Agree on Economic Power of Immigration Reform
In recent years, study after study has demonstrated a simple yet economically powerful truth about broad-based immigration reform: workers with legal status earn more than workers who are unauthorized—and these extra earnings generate more tax revenue, as well as more consumer spending, which creates more jobs. As a new report from the Center for American […]
Read MoreDay 4 of Senate Immigration Mark-up Goes Late into Night
Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee began its fourth day—and likely last week—of the immigration reform bill’s mark-up. After spending most of the day finishing the Title 3 (interior enforcement) amendments, the senators began on the last part of the bill, Title 2 (legalization), which includes the path to citizenship. They considered 50 amendments and approved […]
Read MoreBuilt to Last: How Immigration Reform Can Deter Unauthorized Immigration
One of the explicit goals of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act’’ (S.744) is to curtail future flows of unauthorized immigration by correcting some of the flaws of the current legal immigration system. To that end, it establishes an updated system of legal immigration that, in principle, seeks to match the country’s economic and labor needs while respecting principles of family unification.
Read MoreLegalizing 11 Million Aspiring Americans
Washington D.C. – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues mark-up of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The Committee is expected to complete work on Title Three and then begin considering amendments related to the legalization component of Title Two. Creating a pathway to citizenship is one of the fundamental […]
Read MoreSubtle but Dramatic Progress on Immigration Reform
Yesterday was day 3 of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s mark-up on S. 744, the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill. While it wasn’t as exciting as the first two days—no dramatic speeches or vocal disagreement—several important votes were taken to modify the mandatory E-verify program, adding and subtracting protections, safeguards, and reporting requirements. This lack of […]
Read MoreSenate Committee Debates W Visas and E-Verify on Day Three of Immigration Bill Mark-up
For the third day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s mark-up of the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act,” committee members continued to work through Title Four (specifically regarding the W visa program) and began debating Title Three (about interior enforcement). The senators considered 21 amendments and passed 11 of them with mostly bipartisan […]
Read MoreThe W Visa: Why the Economy Benefits from A Robust New Worker Program
The Senate Judiciary Committee returns to its task of marking up S. 744 tomorrow, taking up, among other things, possible amendments to the W visa program for new nonimmigrant workers. This new program, blessed by both business and labor, is an effort to acknowledge the need for a more flexible system for meeting the demand […]
Read MoreFacts About H-1B Workers and the Innovation Economy
While widespread research documents a critical need for skilled workers in the United States to maintain and strengthen our innovation industry, myths exist in opposition to programs designed to help alleviate that shortage. In particular, the H-1B visa program for high-skilled foreign-born workers, primarily used for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, is a […]
Read MoreFueling the Recovery
How High-Skilled Immigrants Create Jobs and Help Build the U.S. Economy
With the U.S. economy still recovering, it may seem counterintuitive to believe that any industry would benefit from having more workers. But that is precisely the case when it comes to those industries which depend upon highly skilled workers. The United States has long faced a dilemma in this respect: the U.S. economy is, in general, absorbing more high-skilled professionals than the U.S. educational system produces or that are available in our workforce. That is one reason so many highly skilled workers in the United States are immigrants. For instance, in “STEM” occupations (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the foreign-born account for 26.1 percent of workers with PhDs and 17.7 percent of those with master’s degrees. However, arbitrary limits imposed by the U.S. immigration system, particularly the inadequate supply of green cards and H-1B visas, have restricted the ability of the U.S. to compete in the global battle for talent and ideas. Given that highly skilled professionals tend to create jobs through their innovative work, such limits are economically self-defeating.
High-skilled immigrant workers create new jobs.
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