Current immigration law counterproductive
Hans Christian Linnartz, certified immigration law specialist practicing in Raleigh and teaching immigration law at Duke Law School
The News & Observer — 08/25/2011
President Barack Obama and leaders of both parties in Congress say their highest domestic priority is creating jobs. If they are sincere about this, then let them reform immigration law. … The longer Congress postures and postpones, the slower will be economic recovery and the more ground the United States will lose to countries that are learning to grow by immigration - something America knew, once upon a time.
Helping immigrant entrepreneurs create good U.S. jobs
Karen Mills, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and John Doerr, member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness and a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Kansas City Star — August 4, 2011
… Over the last six months, the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, the Small Business Administration, and leaders throughout the administration have traveled around the country and heard a resounding message from hundreds of entrepreneurs and small business owners: This needs to change. As a result, this week the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced several steps to move in a better direction. … We already know that their impact is huge. Immigrant business owners generate more than 10 percent of U.S. business income each year. They represent nearly 17 percent of new business owners in America. They are critical pillars of our economy, especially in states like California, Florida, New York and Texas. In a 21st-century global economy, we must continue to attract and retain the people whose ideas are creating more and better jobs - regardless of whether they are born here or abroad. The next generation of working families is counting on all of us to help tomorrow's businesses take root, grow and flourish. If we are successful, we will create a brighter future not only for immigrants who see the fertile ground to build a business here in the United States but also for the millions of Americans who will - as a result of thegrowth of immigrant-owned businesses - hear those two great words: "You're hired."
How the private sector can help curb our engineering shortage
Paul Otelinni, president and CEO of Intel
Washington Post — August 4, 2011
… Forty percent of students enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics leave their program after the first year, according to the American Society for Engineering Education. Engineering programs are tough, but thisrate of attrition is unacceptable. Fortunately, it can be reversed. There are lucrative career opportunities for engineering students with specialized skills. If we can simply increase the retention and graduation rates of these qualified, interested students, we can move a long way toward solving our shortage while creating momentum in making engineering a valued and even “cool” area of study for our best and brightest students.
Startup Stories: Coming to America
Manu Kumar, entrepreneur
White House Blog — August 3, 2011
I came to the United States in 1992 at the age of 17 to attend college in Pittsburgh. Today, I am proud to be a naturalized U.S. citizen. I have helped found four companies, three of which have been successfully acquired, and one is poised to change an entire industry. As an investor, I have helped fund 15 companies. Collectively the companies I have been involved with have created well over 400 jobs – all here in the United States.
Immigration Reform: The Economic Argument
David Skorton, president of Cornell University
Huffington Post — August 1, 2011
Last week, in the midst of the turmoil related to the nation's debt ceiling, I testified at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, chaired by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), focusing on the economic imperative for enacting immigration reform. The thrust of the hearing was to explore the economic benefits of immigration reform, with provisions to make it easier for foreign nationals to work in selected sectors of the U.S. workforce. What? Won't those foreign workers displace equally qualified Americans? How can more immigration be good for America's economy? The answer, simply put, is that foreign workers make a substantial contribution to our country, particularly in the growing high-tech areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the so-called STEM disciplines.