A gaggle of America's biggest hi-tech companies have called for a silicon veto of President Trump's tightening of controls on HB1 visas, saying they threaten jobs and competitivity.
ADVERTISEMENTIt has only taken 48 hours for some of America’s biggest companies to revolt against President Donald Trump’s tightening of H1B visas, used to bring high-skilled workers to the US.
“80% of #H1B workers are paid less than the median wage in their fields” https://t.co/5LaRbt0wkIpic.twitter.com/80Fcfphcmt
— NumbersUSA (@NumbersUSA) 19 avril 2017
Trump’s executive order sparked outrage at Google, Facebook and Tesla among others, as a silicon revolt in the US high-tech sector warned of job and revenue losses.
“I’m very nervous about the things happening. And I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Because everyone when you left from your company, your country, you have a plan in your mind. And we never thought of this thing going to happen,” said overseas Computer Science Masters student Mayank Kasturia.
I've witnessed entire departments and worker segments displaced & replaced by contracted #H1B workers.
TheFive</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ericbolling">ericbollingkimguilfoyle</a></p>— Jeff Williams (JLWNEO) 18 avril 2017
The loss of the lucrative market for overseas students is also threatening higher education, and it might mean breaking a virtuous circle for America, too.
“For many years, we’ve relied on this pool of well educated individuals from other countries to fill the vacant positions in engineering and sciences. If that is not going to be available to us, we will have to look for drastic alternatives,” says the Dean at California State University’s College of Engineering, Forouzan Golshani.
Nous sommes devant la maison et le garage où Bill Hewlett et David Packard fondèrent leur entreprise en 1939 berceau de la #SiliconValleypic.twitter.com/vj7Id2myeG
— InsIDE (@InsIDE_institut) 19 avril 2017
Where it all began. Hewlett and Packard’s house where in 1939 their infant industry took wing. Nearly a century of activity later it has transformed the US economy and the world.
Fewer students coming to America means fewer will be tempted to stay, although Trump argues the current system is an unfair lottery, with entry not based on skills or pay grades.
Trump announces further review of H1B program to favor more skilled and highly paid applicants https://t.co/HDbHR21qHZ#H1Bpic.twitter.com/oUOyPqUurh
— Bloomberg VisualData (@BBGVisualData) 18 avril 2017