Mediaboss Marketing

U.S. lawmakers are once again weighing changes to the popular but troubled H-1B work visa. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP hide caption

U.S. lawmakers are once again weighing changes to the popular but troubled H-1B work visa.

President Trump has pushed aggressively against illegal immigration, while his specific plans for legal immigration including the popular but troubled H-1B work visa remain unclear. He has said he wants to crack down on abuses and protect American workers, but it's Congress that holds the power to fundamentally reform the program.

A broken system

For months last year, California lawmakers Darrell Issa and Zoe Lofgren tried to hash out a joint bipartisan bill to reform the H-1B visa, the popular program that lets thousands of highly skilled foreigners work in the U.S., particularly in tech jobs.

As far as immigration reforms go, high-skilled immigration programs are some of the least controversial. The H-1B program covers many fields, but is especially known to benefit tech companies. Its description often invokes a recurring line about America's interest in attracting the world's "best and brightest."

But H-1B also has elements known to be broken: A lottery decides who gets the visa; the demand has far eclipsed the quota; and options for permanent stay differ by country of origin. And the biggest complaint is that Indian IT companies like Wipro, Infosys and Tata have hijacked the system. They are three of the top H-1B employers.

"They're taking the H-1B visas a real U.S. tech company needs," says Gary Shapiro, the head of the Consumer Technology Association. "And they're using them ... to basically replace American workers at a cheaper rate by having people come here temporarily, not paid well, not housed well, not on any way to becoming citizens.

"Everyone loses under the system today," he says, "so it's part of the reason we need an H-1B overhaul."

Efforts to do that kind of overhaul have been undertaken by federal legislators over recent years, but haven't progressed. The latest concerted effort came under President Barack Obama but stalled in Congress, folded into a massive, broad immigration reform bill, Shapiro says.

"President Obama meant well, but ... he had the chance and he lost it," he says. "Now we have another chance."

Attempted joint effort

Lofgren is the top Democrat on the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, where Issa is one of her Republican colleagues. Her district covers a chunk of Silicon Valley; his is in San Diego County. She is, by profession, an immigration lawyer. He is a former electronics executive with family members from Lebanon balancing lives in several countries.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says he's got the votes to pass his narrow H-1B bill in the House and hopes for support in the Senate. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says he's got the votes to pass his narrow H-1B bill in the House and hopes for support in the Senate.

"We tried to work before the election with the ranking member on the subcommittee and she pulled out of it, preferring partisan politics," Issa says.

"We talked for probably six, seven months ... every day it was a new" thing, says Lofgren. "I tried to work with Darrell, but it's impossible to work with Darrell."

Each says the other kept moving the goal post or altering the bill. In the end, the two of them introduced separate bills. With Republicans controlling the majority, Issa's has more potential at least he says he's got the votes to pass it in the House. Shapiro's CTA supports it.

"This piece of legislation is small, it's focused, and it's highly bipartisan," Issa says, "and that gives it an opportunity to break a logjam that has gone on for approaching two decades."

Dueling bills

Issa's bill is small indeed. Without reaching for changes to the quota or how the system operates, Issa's legislation in simplest terms raises the bar for companies with more than 15 percent of H-1B employees to "attest" that they could not hire Americans.

Currently, these "H-1B-dependent" companies have to certify this only if a foreigner displaces an American worker for a job that pays less than $60,000 far less than an average tech wage. Under Issa's bill, the threshold would rise to $100,000 and holders of master's degrees would lose an exemption.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., says the H-1B program needs a broad reform, including changes to the lottery process that awards the visas. Jacquelyn Martin/AP hide caption

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., says the H-1B program needs a broad reform, including changes to the lottery process that awards the visas.

However, Lofgren and other critics which include the engineering group IEEE-USA say that this won't do much. They argue companies have figured out how to game the so-called attestation process, and in a highly paid field of tech work, even the new wage threshold would allow for displacement of Americans.

"Some people think (attestation) works, but my observation is it doesn't work and it hasn't worked," Lofgren says. "I think if we place all eggs in that basket, we're going to be disappointed."

Lofgren's bill sweeps wider. It proposes replacing the lottery process with a system that prioritizes the highest-paying companies. Then it goes beyond H-1B, suggesting changes to work-based immigration and other types of visas.

Issa sees merit in Lofgren's bill he says parts of it came from their joint effort. But, he says, the time for broader legislation is after a narrow bill passes.

"I support comprehensive high-skilled reform," Issa says. "But there's a difference between plugging a leak and building a better ship. ... In this particular structure of Republicans and Democrats, simplicity may be the best way to at least get a partial fix."

Presidential power

Issa's and Lofgren's bills aren't the only ones under consideration in Congress. And Trump is expected to weigh in on the matter.

A leaked draft of his executive order earlier this year took aim at H-1B and other work visas, but with few specifics. It recommended a review of the programs to ensure protections for American workers.

"The president made it clear when he was asked by [Apple CEO] Tim Cook and other tech leaders to put a priority on this that he would and they agreed with him," Issa says about Trump's December meeting with tech executives.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer was asked about plans for legal immigration earlier this month. He replied that they would shape up, but for now illegal immigration was a priority.

And ultimately, experts say that key elements of the program, including the number of the visas that get issued, are written into statute, meaning Congress holds the power to change them.

Original post:
Trump May Weigh In On H-1B Visas, But Major Reform Depends On Congress - NPR

Photo by James Sienkievic

In the State of the City Address, Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte discussed the dire need for adequate housing, immigration reform, and funding for public education in District 42, which includes Ditmas Park, Flatbush, and Midwood.

The idea of a divided America has been dominating the national conversation recently, with town hall meetings full of angry constituents happening across New York City in recent weeks.

But the message of finding solutions through civil engagement and community activism rang loud and clear as Bichotte addressed around 200 of her constituents at Brooklyn College on Monday night.

Referencing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bichotte warned that it can feel like the American dream is turning into a nightmare to many New Yorkers.

A nightmare where 20 million people may soon be stripped of affordable health insurance. Where medicare and medicate which is heavily relied upon by our seniors, low-income people and working families will be severely diminished. A womens right to choose and reproductive freedom may be rolled back. A wall will be build to keep some of us in and immigrants out while tearing families apart through mass deportation, Bichotte said

How do we prepare for whats ahead? How do we keep the dream alive? Our nation is struggling. It is struggling to overcome ignorance and hate.

Affordable Housing

More than any other issue, Bichotte said that housing was the number one problem that she heard from her constituents this past year. Many people showed up in person at her office for help.

Without adequate housing, it is almost impossible for individuals and families to build a stable life, and this remains one of our top priorities, Bichotte said, adding that in the past year alone, her office handled 154 constituent cases.

Supporting public education and free college tuition for all

Bichotte broke down the projected state budget for 2017-18, which is estimated to be about $162 billion dollars up from the proposed $142.8 billion in 2016. She contextualized that number by detailing the top expenditures last year Medicare, Medicaid, health, and education made up around 60 percent of the budget in 2016.

But she attacked Governor Andrew Cuomos proposed education budget, and his proposal to permanently lift the cap off charter schools. The Governor continues to shortchange our public school system, by only proposing $428 million versus the $4.3 billion that is owed to our public schools, Bichotte said.

Another important issue for Bichotte is fighting the expansion of charter schools, which she sees as a threat topublic education in her district. This idea is being pushed by the new Secretary of Education Betsy Devos, whom Bichotte called a billionaire whos made her career fortune rigging the system to privatize and defund our public school system.

Bichotte mentioned her ongoing work to advance the Dream Act, helping undocumented students attend college, and the introduction last year of legislation that would make New York one of only three states to offer free tuition for all community colleges.

Last year I introduced the New York Promise Bill, which was reintroduced this year. Now the significant financial investment proposed in this bill would create access to education for hundreds and thousands of New Yorkers.

Bichotte said her proposal would allocate $450 to $800 million in funds to provide free tuition to community colleges and help lower-income families by offering additional grants to help offset additional costs, such as books.

But she dismissed a similar free college tuition plan proposed by Governor Cuomo, saying that he did not go far enough to help lower-income families. The governors plan would cover tuition for state or city university students whose families earn $125,000 or less.

Immigration reform

Bichotte addressed the issue of immigration reform, citing four immigration bills which she co-sponsored a few weeks ago which she says will help to ensure the fair and ethical treatment of New Yorkers by providing clarity and certainty for state and local officials when they deal with immigrant populations.

As we protest against the deplorable ban against Muslim immigrants and the ICE raids we are seeing and hearing about, we have to ask ourselves, how did this go so far?

Bichotte ended the evening with a call to unite coalitions across political movements, urging her constituents to stand together in progressive causes.

We ought to be marching side by side on all issues that affect our lives and the lives of our neighbors, Bichotte said. Let us remember that our liberty and our freedom are intrinsically tied to each other. We are not truly free until we are all free.

Advertisement

See the rest here:
Our Nation Is Struggling Rep. Bichotte Fights For Housing & Immigration Reform - BKLYNER

Most Americans are aghast when they hear that the government does not know how many foreigners or who is staying illegally in the country after entering with a visa. The government knows who is entering thats what those lines at the airports passport control are doing. But there is no similar collection of reliable data on departing travelers that allows the exit data to be compared with the entry data to identify those staying beyond their authorized stay.

Although this fact is not generally known to the public, it is known to Congress. When Congress enacted a package of reforms in 1996 (Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act ) as urged by the findings of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, the Clinton administration was instructed to develop a system for collecting the departure information in a way that could be reliably compared to entry data so that policy makers would learn the magnitude of the overstay problem and the profile of the overstayers in terms of type of visa, country of origin, and biometric data. The idea was that if visa entry scofflaws were concentrated among a group such as young single persons entering with a temporary work visa or a student visa and from a particular country, the visa issuance process in that country could be tightened up. Similarly, if it were found that a disproportionate number of scofflaws had been issued a visa by a specific consular officer, that consular officer could be counseled to tighten issuance standards.

But, aside from a few tentative steps to explore the means to capture reliable exit data, no progress was made in complying with the mandate from Congress.

A new impetus was generated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on our country. It was revealed that five of the 19 terrorists on the hijacked planes were visa overstayers and that shoddy visa issuance procedures in Saudi Arabia had enabled that attack. With heightened concern for national security, Congress again mandated action in the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. It again ordered the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement an automated biometric entry-exit matching system.

But, more than a dozen years later, it still has not been accomplished. One notable setback occurred when airlines refused to accept any responsibility for doing anything other than scanning machine-readable passports at their reservation desks in airports. This left the loophole that the traveler might not be the same person to whom the passport was issued. DHS currently is again attempting to enlist airlines to cooperate with it in the exit data collection.

Congress has continued to be apprised of the failure to fulfill the mandate it gave the administration in reports from the Government Accountability Office, other reports and in testimony. A further prodding from Congress came in the Budget Act of 2016 when DHS was given earmarked funding for a pilot project to collect the biometric exit data.

It is not that DHS has been entirely ignoring the law. It has executed a series of narrowly-focused tests that have accomplished better understanding of the difficulty in collecting reliable data. And, DHS now reports that it is readying a partial data collection system for departing travelers by next year. However, reviewing the string of failures since 1996, it is premature to be hopeful. DHS also delivered its first report to Congress on what it believed was the number of foreign travelers who failed to depart by the end of their authorized stay during fiscal year 2015 in two categories travelers for business and pleasure (i.e. tourism), Those visa categories account for a large majority of arriving foreigners, but not necessarily the most likely to overstay their admission period. That report identified 527,127 potential scofflaws. That calculation, however, is not definitive, and it is only partial, but it demonstrates that the issue is substantial.

Anyone wanting more on the history of this national security flaw and current efforts underway by DHS to comply with the law will find it in the latest report of the GAO (February, 2017) here.

View post:
Snail's Pace Towards Controlling Against Visa Scofflaws - ImmigrationReform.com (blog)

An immigration reform bill was introduced in the Senate earlier this month. Normally, that would be an event with about as much news value and as the sun rising in the east.

But there is something different about the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act, sponsored by Senators Tom CottonTom CottonCotton: Special prosecutor talk is 'getting ahead of ourselves' Finally, an immigration reform bill that tackles family migration Perez to hit the Sunday shows following election victory MORE (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). The bill actually lays down some clear public interest objectives for U.S. immigration policy and recognizes the American people as the primary stakeholders in their nations immigration policy.

Immigrants selected for their job skills currently comprise only about 6 percent of the current immigrant flow. Significantly reducing overall immigration and eliminating preferences for extended family members would ensure that those selected to come to the U.S. would be more likely to succeed, and would complement, rather than compete with, American workers.

The RAISE Act reflects the recommendations of a bipartisan commission that reviewed every aspect of U.S. immigration policy. That commission, chaired by the late civil rights leader and Texas congresswoman Barbara Jordan, issued its final report 20 years ago. The commissions blueprint for immigration reform was endorsed by President Bill ClintonBill ClintonFinally, an immigration reform bill that tackles family migration 5 ways politics could steal the show at Oscars Clinton: Dems will be 'strong, unified' with Perez MORE and by congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle.

The core recommendations of the Jordan Commission included ending extended family chain migration and shifting the selection criteria to favor people who possess skills that are most beneficial to the country.

Among its key provisions, the RAISE Act would eliminate all immigration entitlements outside of the nuclear family (spouse and minor children) of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents, ending the long and ever-growing list of relatives who are now eligible to come here, regardless of their likelihood to succeed in this country.

Elderly dependent parents of U.S. citizens would still be permitted to come to the United States on temporary visas, but sponsors would be required to guarantee support and health insurance.

Under the RAISE Act, the 1960s concept of family chain migration a form of codified nepotism would be ended in a way that is not only beneficial to the nation, but also to the integrity of the immigration process.

Other relatives of green card holders and U.S. citizens, who once constituted a significant portion of the immigrant flow, would be free to compete on their own for entry. By eliminating these needless preference categories that contain the seeds of their own growth, experts say that we will be able to reach the Jordan Commissions target of 550,000 immigrants a year within a decade a level that would still be at the high end of historic norms.

American workers who have lost job opportunities and suffered wage erosion as a result of decades of irrational immigration policies would be the biggest beneficiaries of this legislation. For the first time in generations, immigration would be treated like every other public policy: one that maximizes the public good, while minimizing the harm to workers and taxpayers.

Other recent attempts to enact immigration reform have been centered on granting amnesty to millions of people who broke the law and making our already dysfunctional immigration process even bigger (and, likely, more dysfunctional). Not surprisingly, those efforts were rejected by the American people, who recognized that almost nothing in those bills protected or promoted their core interests.

The decline of the American middle class and immigration were the two issues that dominated this last election cycle. The RAISE Act responsibly addresses both of those concerns almost precisely as recommended by the bipartisan Jordan Commission in 1997. That constitutes not only real news, but real reform of our immigration policy.

Dan Stein is president of Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

See more here:
Finally, an immigration reform bill that tackles family migration - The Hill (blog)

In 2013, the Senate passed a bipartisan -- do you remember that word? -- immigration reform bill that provided a pathway for undocumented immigrants to earn their way to citizenship.

The bill included tough new border security measures along the Mexican border: More fencing and thousands of more border patrol agents.

That negotiated legislation, which passed on a 68-32 count, garnered 14 Republican votes.

People like McCain and Rubio and Graham and Flake and Corker and Hatch and Ayotte.

The pathway would be no easy road; the requirements could have taken 13 years to fulfill.

But Republicans buried the bill in the House where bipartisan legislation generally goes to die.

Now, the Senate too is hopelessly split by partisanship and party, and the White House no longer is open to immigration reform.

In view of today's sharp division and fiery rhetoric, it's startling to recall there was such an opportunity just four years ago.

Lincoln Catholic Bishop James Conley spoke up powerfully about illegal or undocumented immigrants in an op-ed published in the Catholic Southern Nebraska Register this weekend and posted on Facebook.

"Our immigration system is broken because overhauling it would require that political leaders on all sides put aside partisan posturing and incendiary rhetoric in order to reach meaningful and comprehensive agreements," the bishop wrote.

"Surely, our government, in wisdom and creativity and human decency, can find just means of addressing the crime of illegal immigration without severing marriages, sending children to foster care and returning people to situations of abject hopelessness," he wrote.

"Surely, if America is truly great, it can respond to these challenges with ingenuity and virtue and charity," Conley stated.

"I stand in solidarity with immigrant families living in fear of what might be coming for them.

"I stand in solidarity with American citizens looking for real security instead of political showmanship and rhetoric.

"I stand in solidarity with those politicians and law enforcement agents working to find fair and humane solutions to complex problems.

"I stand in solidarity with those living in poverty or danger seeking some promise of safety and opportunity for their children.

"As Catholics," he wrote, "we must continue to call for real, comprehensive, safe and just immigration reform.

"But we cannot accept the panacea of mass detention and deportation," Conley wrote.

Guessing the end game at the Legislature.

Who can tell how this ends?

Tax cuts -- property and/or income -- remain the explosive political issue.

Rural interests appear to be drawing a deep line in the sand this time, calling for an undivided focus on meaningful property tax reduction.

Hanging in the air, whispered in text messages but undeclared, is the possibility -- but not the certainty -- of political consequences if that does not happen.

Legislative seats are in play next year and so is the governorship and rural Nebraska dominates statewide Republican primary elections.

Sen. Ben Sasse's remarks to a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce coffee gathering last week were the latest reminder of how gifted this guy is.

In introducing him, Chamber executive vice president Bruce Bohrer described Sasse as "a walking think tank."

Sasse walked the crowd through a broad sweep of history, centered on the present and cast an eye on the future, all of that delivered seamlessly and with hardly a pause.

The top headlines from JournalStar.com. Delivered at 11 a.m. Monday-Friday.

It was the kind of performance that challenges all of us to up our game.

Police officers did a professional job of keeping a lid on the demonstration that confronted Sen. Deb Fischer in Lincoln last week.

They respected the right of assembly, calmly and patiently talked protesters out of the Grand Manse building after they became disruptive and were blocking the hall, and did so with no threat or show of force.

No confrontation; no escalation; no injuries, no arrests; noisy, but no harm done: that's an A-plus in crowd control.

Jane Kleeb was featured on MSNBC during the election of a new Democratic national chairman in Atlanta on Saturday.

Kleeb, the new chair of Nebraska's Democratic Party, supported Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, who lost in a narrow contest with Tom Perez.

"We are in the streets, energized and progressive," Kleeb said, and Ellison would have been the bridge to connect activists with the party apparatus.

Kleeb told MSNBC she is ready to work with Perez.

"Of course," she said. "But it's his responsibility to build a bridge, not mine."

* A view from the west in this paragraph in the North Platte Bulletin about a town hall meeting with Sen. Mike Groene: "It turned out there was no need for law enforcement even though some Groene critics from eastern Nebraska were said to be in the audience."

* Baseball is in the air.

Visit link:
Don Walton: Immigration reform was within reach - Lincoln Journal Star