GOP Lawmakers Weigh In on Immigration Order Amid Tech Concerns; Shapiro Presses H-1B Reforms
More GOP lawmakers weighed in about President Donald Trump's executive order curtailing immigration at least temporarily from seven Muslim-majority countries. Among them were House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D.
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CTA President Gary Shapiro, who this weekend warned the executive order raised constitutional issues (see 1701290001), told us H-1B visa reforms for high-skilled immigrants are needed. MPAA on Friday joined many other tech groups and companies (see 1701300023) in expressing concern about Trump's move. And Democratic members of Congress expressed concern (see 1701310005), with some including Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introducing a bill to rescind the order.
Concerned tech companies “should register their concerns with the administration, with their team," Thune told reporters Tuesday. "If there’s a specific issue, I would raise it. Obviously, we’re interested in hearing from the tech companies on a regular basis, too. We interact with those folks almost seems like on a weekly basis on some issues.” The companies “will have to work with [the administration] in a way that will accommodate their concerns,” hopefully yielding “constructive” outcomes, Thune said.
Without badly needed H-1B visa reforms and other high-skilled immigration changes, “the very future of our tech economy is at stake,” Shapiro emailed us Monday. “The U.S. technology sector leads the world in innovation and is a key driver of our country’s economic engine,” Shapiro said, without mentioning the executive order that blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The tech industry’s success “comes from attracting the best and brightest in the world,” Shapiro said, citing estimates the country could face a “shortfall” of more than 223,000 workers in science, technology, engineering and math fields by 2018. “That means 30 percent of American STEM jobs will go unfilled,” he said.
“We can either enable companies to find the best and brightest talent available, or those talented workers will find countries where companies can hire them,” said Shapiro. Foreign-born entrepreneurs “help create American jobs and drive innovation,” he said, citing additional estimates that every foreign-born worker in the U.S. with a STEM degree creates 2.62 jobs for U.S.-born workers. The Trump administration and Congress “should work to support H-1B reforms that encourage foreign-born entrepreneurs and U.S.-educated immigrants to remain in the U.S. to build businesses and create domestic jobs,” he said.
Latta said immigration and refugee programs need to be reviewed in light of terrorism acts in the U.S. and Europe. He said the executive order is designed to temporarily stop the refugee program as vetting procedures are improved. "There was uncertainty regarding how this order was implemented and carried out, and it's important that the Administration clarify how this order affects legal residents," he said in a Monday statement. The White House didn't comment to us Tuesday, or this weekend.
Meanwhile, MPAA CEO Chris Dodd said his group is concerned about the order's impact on people with valid personal and business relationships in the U.S. “Among those potentially affected are members of the creative community who cannot freely express themselves in their home country and come to the United States seeking the opportunity to communicate and enlighten," he said. "Our country can both protect its national security and be a welcoming place for those who respect our values.”