If Immigration Reform Is Dead, So Is Raising the H-1B Cap

dcblogs writes: In a speech Wednesday on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) declared immigration reform dead. He chastised and baited Republicans in Congress for blocking reform, and declared that winning the White House without the support of a growing Hispanic population will become mathematically impossible. "The Republican Presidential nominee, whoever he or she may be, will enter the race with an electoral college deficit they cannot make up," said Gutierrez. If he's right, and comprehensive immigration reform is indeed dead, then so too is the tech industry's effort to raise the cap on H-1B visas. Immigration reform advocates have successfully blocked any effort to take up the immigration issue in piecemeal fashion, lest business support for comprehensive reform peel away. Next year may create an entirely new set of problems for tech. If the Republicans take control of the Senate, the tech industry will face this obstacle: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee could become its next chairman. He has been a consistent critic of the H-1B program through the years. "The H-1B program is so popular that it's now replacing the U.S. labor force," said Grassley, at one point.

Comments

I'm Sorry...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there a problem here? (Other than congress failing to deal with illegal immigration?)

Re:No, they're replacing.

[kick6]

You say "no", but even if we accept the study by a hyper-partisan group with a specific objective of removing immigrants as valid, what you posted doesn't actually contradict what I said.

Now, we can argue to hell and back what constitutes "taking jobs", but the fact that they're trying as hard as possible to be Americans is an important one.

I struggle to call wanting citizenship to be "trying as hard as possible to be Americans." All of the foriegn workers I know live in insular communities with others from their region of the globe, and adamantly refuse to let go of the majority of their native culture including language and customs. That, to me, isn't trying all that hard to be an American...except on paper.

Re:No, they're replacing.

[aardvarkjoe]

Do you really believe that an unemployed white guy is going to pick lettuce?

If the price is right, of course they will. Just because you're a lazy bastard doesn't mean everyone is.