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Trump Says He Wants Skilled Migrants But Creates New Hurdles (apnews.com)
An anonymous reader shares an Associated Press report: It may be a while before President Donald Trump gets another chance at creating a new, "merit-based" immigration system, a keystone of his four-part plan that Congress rejected last month. In the meantime, his administration is busy making it harder, not easier, for skilled migrants to come work in the United States. The State Department has ended an Obama-era program to grant visas to foreign entrepreneurs who want to start companies in the United States. It is more aggressively scrutinizing visas to skilled workers from other countries. And it is contemplating ending a provision that allows spouses of those skilled workers to be employed in the U.S.
The administration and its backers contend it's trying to fix flaws in the existing, employer-centric skilled immigration system while advocating for a complete overhaul of America's immigration system. "The stuff that they're actually doing is not so much restricting skilled immigration as enforcing the law," said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports reducing immigration. "They're rolling back some of the extralegal measures that other administrations have taken." A primary avenue for skilled immigrants to enter the United States is the H1B visa for specialty workers, which is heavily used by the technology industry. About 85,000 visas are issued annually in a lottery system. Some critics argue they are a way for companies to avoid hiring U.S. citizens; Trump himself has said H1B recipients shouldn't even be considered skilled. Further reading: On Easter Sunday, Trump threatens to end DACA and 'stop' NAFTA.
The administration and its backers contend it's trying to fix flaws in the existing, employer-centric skilled immigration system while advocating for a complete overhaul of America's immigration system. "The stuff that they're actually doing is not so much restricting skilled immigration as enforcing the law," said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports reducing immigration. "They're rolling back some of the extralegal measures that other administrations have taken." A primary avenue for skilled immigrants to enter the United States is the H1B visa for specialty workers, which is heavily used by the technology industry. About 85,000 visas are issued annually in a lottery system. Some critics argue they are a way for companies to avoid hiring U.S. citizens; Trump himself has said H1B recipients shouldn't even be considered skilled. Further reading: On Easter Sunday, Trump threatens to end DACA and 'stop' NAFTA.
Good.
Almost had me there.
FAKE NEWS
A xenophobic leopard ain't gonna change his xenophobic spots.
April Fools
We want people with actual skills and not the criminal rejects scraped off the shitholes.
Just like every other country defines in their immigration policies!
Why can't we?
if increased_h-1b_restrictions is True then:
result = lobby_congress_to_get_rid_of_regulations()
if result is False then:
result = move_most_operations_overseas()
if border_adjustment_tax is True then:
result = initiate_second_business_plot()
if result is False
flee_country()
While he may say he wants skilled workers, the truth is that he's working toward isolationism because that is what his extremist political base wants. Furthermore, the president himself doesn't really have any real positions with the exception that he's great and wants praise. The only thing that matters to this eternally waffling president is his own ego.
The real shame here is that a certain political party refused to even speak out against this farce of a president (much less impeach) and have now become the party of extremism as a result.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
In other words, Trump is looking for a new wife with such vital skills as "modeling" and "willing to have sex with an orange carrot with a flop of hair". You know, the sort of things you only find in America in porn stars and Playboy models.
If he cracks down on H1B abuse, that's a good thing in both the short and the long run, regardless of what the vested interests that are big media and big tech have to say on the subject. And given past reporting on the economics of H1B, it is fair to say that much of the program is abuse. Good on Trump.
As to the rest of it...that's right: Congress needs to change the law in order for the law to be changed. I understand why this may come as unexpected news given the previous administration's looser interpretation of the separation of powers and big media's unabashed cheerleading of that loose interpretation but it is indeed the case that if we want merit-based immigration, then we need to change the law from what we have now to what we would like to have.
Enforcing the letter of the existing laws to highlight their inadequacy is about the only thing the President can do to force the issue. That's what happened with terminating DACA. The lefties couldn't stomach actually having to vote on amnesty for an ever-changing and open-ended number of illegal immigrants so they sued in a friendly court where an Obama-appointed judge made the curious ruling that the Trump administration could not terminate DACA on the grounds of its illegality because only a court could find something illegal. We'll see what sort of contortions the left will make in their inevitable court challenge. Perhaps they will find a judge who is willing to rule that only even-numbered presidents may issue executive orders while odd-numbered presidents are obliged to keep on enforcing them, on the grounds that no one wants odd governance and an even-handed approach is more mathematically beautiful.
Have a look at the requirements to immigrate for a job. The USA doesn't care if you were a rocket surgeon for 40 years if you don't have a degree.
If you have no experience expect living at home for 20 years on welfare and taking university for 4 years for basket weaving, though, USA welcomes your complete ineptitude at managing to hold a job.
Trump wants to make it harder for low skilled temporary workers to come the United States. Trump wants to make it easier for high skilled immigrants to come to the United States... which is something different.
The amount of capital B, grade A Bullshit you have to deal with with screening Americans is bad enough. The amount of fraud you get from the developing world is just unbelievable. "Why yes, I have 20 years of experience with writing Hadoop applications in Go with a UI written in Rust."
Oh really, it say you graduated from a diploma mill 3 years ago...
Currently, H1B visas are being abused by the employers. They have, effectively, a slave. Complain, get fired, lose your visa. It's a simple fix. Tie the H1B visa to the worker, not to the company. Make it easy for the visa holder to change jobs. It shouldn't be any more difficult than updating an online form with new employment information. This will eliminate the worst of the abusers. One other change I would make. H1B visa holders should be barred from working for a contracting company.
-- Will program for bandwidth
Foreigners need not apply. We already have enough talented people here who are in need of better jobs.
Furthermore, the president himself doesn't really have any real positions with the exception that he's great and wants praise.
So you're saying that he didn't make his position clear about immigration before the election? Or after the election? You're saying he didn't sit down with Pelosi and Schumer to try to work out a deal? You're saying he didn't send a 70-point immigration wish-list to congress right before the Omnibus bill?
That's pretty hilarious.
While he may say he wants skilled workers, the truth is that he's working toward isolationism because that is what his extremist political base wants.
You're making shit up. The truth is... you're making shit up.
This is a standard liberal practice - just make shit up about the other side and then say how bad that shit is.
If you're so against what Trump is doing, tell us what we *should* be doing!
What is the Liberal position on immigration, and how will that position benefit America?
We should have already figured out well by now that the rhetoric around "merit-based immigration" was total bullshit when coming from Trump and his camp, it's a relic from the parts of the America right that aren't so virulently xenophobic and who used to have sway.
Really, this is what the "shithole" comments should have made perfectly clear. The problem with that wasn't that he used naughty language, it's that he didn't want people immigrating from "shitholes", but instead more coming from say, Norway. Doesn't matter if the "shitholes" have skilled people who want out and we could pick up in a brain drain, they are from of one of "those places" with too many of "those people".
He doesn't want to just clamp down on illegal immigration, he wants to clamp down on legal immigration too, and deport as much as he can get away with as a bonus. It doesn't do the rest of us much good to play doublespeak games with white supremacists like Stephen Miller.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Build walls around all states!
It's true there are many new obstacles now since mr Trump. For example, mandatory interviews for greencard even though some applicants may be doing the job for 10 years. Tons of other checks and delays.
But we persevere and win. In the end, I believe it's a win-win for everybody. You get extra talent, we get extra money.
IndentationError: expected an indented block
sudo rm -r -f --no-preserve-root /
Don't tell Trump this. His businesses hire lots of immigrants, legal and otherwise.
https://www.vox.com/2018/2/13/...
[Note: this article is from last month]
You are welcome on my lawn.
The State Department has ended an Obama-era program to grant visas to foreign entrepreneurs who want to start companies in the United States.
Because Obama did it. Someone who wanted bright, energetic people who wanted to better themselves and their community must be stopped. Especially since Obama wanted them to come to this country.
Meanwhile, we'll continue to allow the EB-5 visa program to remain even though it is essentially the same thing. The only difference is with EB-5, the money would flow to family members in this corrupt administration.
"It might not even have made much difference to them if they'd known exactly how much power the President of the Galaxy actually wielded: none at all. Only six people in the Galaxy knew that the job of the Galactic President was not to wield power but to attract attention away from it. "
We already see it some companies moving on, or at least encouraging their citizens to return. Given that we just gave away to US companies a license to export money and never return (territorial tax system), it's hard to imagine a company wanting to expand here at the moment, too much termoil and uncertainty (risk). while I agree a merit based system would be good, it could have been handled better. Create a new program that encourages that and then phase out sponsor ship program. Hard cutting this way created unnecessary uncertainty. (btw, the UK they're running into this problem right now, they have negative immigration.)
What shitty language gives that error?
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=IndentationError%3A+expected+an+indented+block
> The whole idea if merit based immigration is based on the false racist assumption that somehow those classified as belonging to a White race are superior
No it is not. Please stop lying.
The H1B program is designed to replace Americans with cheaper offshore workers.
Unlike most visas, the H1B specifically allows companies to replace Americans with cheaper H1Bs, even if the American worker is doing a good job.
The program is a complete scam.
that's all i want to say as a supportive example.
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
The most significant part of this is an intent to prevent spouses from working.
The most common reason for failure (i.e. return to origin country) of expatriation or immigration of skilled workers is the partner being unhappy. For people from most developed countries, their husband or wife also expects a career - the time of househusbands or even housewives living on a one income family and being happy about that is over. In academia, this is known as the two-body problem: if you hire an academic from another country, there are two bodies to please, not just one.
So if Trump makes it impossible to get a work permit for a spouse when a highly skilled migrant moves to the USA, all those from countries where men and women have approximate equality will just not come. Try telling your partner you're moving to different country for a great professional opportunity but they can't work when they're there, so they have to give up their career and can't start another job or another occupation. It won't go well for most of you, and that's particularly true if you're higher skilled and globally mobile because such people tend to have partners or spouses who are also higher skilled and globally mobile.
Of course, this won't discourage people who are in large company H1B visa schemes used to supply more generic mid-skilled workers for contracts in the USA, especially as they are usually younger and less likely to have spouses and children.
But the university professors, top engineering talent, top management talent - that will all go "My wife can't work? My husband has to lose his career? No thanks - I'll take that job in another country instead." Trump won't understand or even notice, but universities, tech corporations, engineering corporations, and even orchestras will notice.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled"
Great post! A clear point shored up by verifiable facts, a clean suggestion of policy, and reference to a working example.
I would mod that up in a heartbeat - please continue to post on slashdot, we need more people like you!
Trump doesn't really want anything except positive publicity and praise from Fox and Friends (and everyone else is Fake News, so he doesn't have to re-evaluate his position in light of negative criticism).
But Stephen Miller and his ilk are xenophobic and isolationist. They claim to want "highly skilled" immigrants at the top of the field, but they really want to just slow down all immigration to a crawl. For example, they made it mandatory that everyone who is applying for a Employer Based green card has to go through an interview. This category of green cards has historically had extremely low fraud rates (unlike, say, the marriage based category). Now even a top researcher or faculty member applying under EB-1 (top priority green cards) is having their application delayed by more than (in my case) one year and counting.
Similarly, the H-1B renewals: they now are re-evaluated from scratch for every renewal, even though nothing in the position, job responsibilities, or location has changed. Rather than enforce higher standards for the initial application (which I'd be fine with), they are just making it more burdensome to renew an existing H-1B. All of this is just to slow down the process.
Make no mistake: the only goal is to slow down LEGAL immigration of skilled workers. Miller doesn't want top talent - he wants to keep all immigrants out.
Teachers in West Virginia went on strike, teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky are going to strike because they do not get paid enough. Companies want more profit so they push for reduced taxes and lower wages. This removes a tax base for paying teachers.
It is cheaper to hire workers from with $8000 university degrees and no student loans than to pay taxes to support education.
The H-1B program was started in 1996 as a temporary solution for tech shortages. 22 years later there is still a tech work shortage because America schools are getting the funding they need to produce low cost education for the young people in America.
It is amazing people like this exist.
it'll marginally raise the wages but it won't eliminate the main reason companies want H1-Bs: zero training. They don't even have to maintain the school system anymore. Other countries do it for them. Worse, those countries churn out employees with highly specialized skills. When tech changes those employees either fall by the wayside or they work 90/hr/week on their own time/dime to keep their skills current.
You'd need to increase the cost of an H1-B by a factor of 5-10x to account for the full scope of training (well funded and subsidized high schools and colleges, continual uptraining during working hours, extra employees to cover while you're out training, etc, etc).
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Having populations sitting around and unable to integrate with the country they are in or find legal livelihoods is a problem in a lot of places, and lots of them handle it a whole lot worse than the US does. Unfortunately, the AC above seems to want to use that as an excuse, and makes it pretty obvious that he's bomb throwing by reaching for the phrase "major white countries," which is not the least bit subtle. Also unfortunately, it looks like the Breitbart crowd has taken over moderation duties, as they would be the folks sympethetic towards this sort of "insight".
One of the worst manifestations of this problem is stateless people, which still exist even in places like Europe, even if they shouldn't by their own laws. Obviously it is also huge problem in the Middle East, and has been a compounding problem for a long time in large part due to the various wars dating back at least to the mid 20th-century wars against the Israelis and continuing to today with the Libyan and Syrian wars displacing large numbers of people as refugees.
Again unfortunately, the answer for this sort of problem that the alt-right and Trump folks seem to provide is the essentially the answer for the homeless that is routinely and roundly mocked on South Park: just send them elsewhere!
there's been a lot of job losses to immigration. Yes, immigrants contribute heavily to the economy, but unless you own your own business employing those immigrants you're not benefiting from that. Now with our supply side economic system. Maybe if we had single payer healthcare, a fully funded social security and a proper safety net you'd there's be a point. But for the vast majority of native born workers the immigrants don't help, they hurt.
Ignoring that fact is what got Trump into the Whitehouse. It's why the Dems keep losing seats (1000 in the last 8 years) in all major government races. Right now both parties are heavily in favor of whatever helps the mega corps most. That means supply side economics, low taxes, war profiteering and cuts to social services.
All of these things mean a winner take all economy where the only determining factor in your quality of life is your job. And therefore anything that gets in the way of a good job is pretty much the worst thing ever. It's a twisted system to be sure, but we're not accomplishing anything by failing to acknowledge the reality of it and writing people off as xenophobes.
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points out that they've contributed billions but may never reap the benefits. Just like everybody in this country...
Seriously, if you want people to stop fighting immigration you need to make it so that some of the wealth they generate makes it into their hands too. Right no immigrants contribute a lot to the economy but all that wealth winds up concentrated at the top.
What I"m saying is this: Kicking the immigrants out will hurt a sector of the economy that your average Trump voter is completely isolated from (Wallstreet mostly). Meanwhile their entire quality of life is dependent on getting jobs. Fewer immigrants means more demand for their labor. That's just supply and demand. They're making a perfectly rational decision given a completely irrational world.
tl;dr. Fix our screwed up supply side economic system or expect more twisted distortions like this.
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Works for me. Let's start with California.
so I don't think he'll be doing it, so no worries there. But there's an easy solution to the problem you raised: Pay an H1-B 5x-10x the prevailing wage. If they really do have skills critical to the company that no American has or can be trained to have in a reasonable time then that's not a bad deal. It needs to be that high or the money savings from zero training and the ability to work them longer hours maintain the imbalance.
Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
If you're so certain it's a false racist assumption that the White race is superior, why would merit based immigration bother you? According to you, all races have equal merit. If that's true, what's your problem with merit based immigration?
I can see billions of people willing to migrate to safe, prosperous and fun Africa where no racism exists.
He just wants to copy Australian laws, which I dont see you saying are racist do you?
I dare you, go on, tell the Australians they are racists MOFOs, where they have a LARGE migrant population.
This happens with all fallen empire in history. As soon as they cease to look outward and forward, but inward "get those barbare/wisigoth/immigrant out" and backward "good old time/1950 were better" then it looks like a sign of forthcoming failing and falling.
If you look at the western hemisphere, the US has the most restrictive, the most slow immigration process, and particularly make it very hard to be a political/war refugee.
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GO Mexico https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/mexico-aids-easter-invasion-of-over-1-000-illegals-into-us
Breaking their own laws and international laws.
Id like to see 5m Venezuelans go to mexico.......... oh sorry, they wouldnt even go there to such a shit hole, no matter how bad Venezula gets.
Oh and just because you disagree with a prez, doesnt mean you have to impeach them, you idiot, you dont even know what the word means.
Muwahhhhhhhhhh I dont like this, lets impeach him, muwahhhhhhhhhhh cry cry cry, wheres my pot from mexico.
...for us in Canada. To all skilled migrants who can't get to the US, please consider going just a bit further North. We'll be happy to have you.
I will be more than happy to welcome an undocumented immigrant into my country if in exchange I can send one of you self righteous left wing types out of the country. That way we could do a 1 for 1 exchange.
Unlike the self important bleeding heart types most immigrants are not so open minded and accepting that they will feed foreigners while their own children starve. We have had it too good for too long in the USA so people have lost their sense of self preservation to the point that they can only see good in someone that really just wants to kill them. Most immigrants are not like that.
I think it would be a net benefit for all parties involved. The open borders types would get some badly needed street smarts after living in El Salvador for a few years, and the USA could become a nation again. I am sure that the newly minted citizens would be happy enforcing border security if it means that you would not be coming back and taking their jobs.
How about it
It most certainly is. The whole reason for the immigration debate is the fear that the so called White population in the US is losing it's majority. Why pretend?
Yes. There are actually are some of us that see the truth. The right singers come up with every excuse in the book for why immigrants that don't fit their vision of White people should be denied. They are just afraid to tell the truth because they know most good people will turn on them.
Instead they keep trying to come up with more nonsense that doesn't fit reality. They tried the so called merit based route until they realized that not all highly skilled people are White and not all White people are highly skilled. This assumption was based on their racist views of sioerioritiy that doesn't quite match reality.
So instead of conceding or being honest about their intentions they try to create new ways of gaming the law. It's all a bunch of lies. The law has nothing to do with anything. They break the laws all the time.
Once again Shitty Language.
Now I wouldn't come to the States for love nor money
(As an aside, the h1-B application process was asinine; a metric ton of questions and requirements with no relation to reality or sanity. The actual practical upshot was that only people who really wanted to come would come because it was just too much hassle otherwise. It had *nothing* to do with skills or the economy, regardless of intent. It was farcical.)
Had a great time, worked very hard, didn't get much money - was paid just fine, but taxes in NYC are astronomical. *No one* makes much money.
Now with TSA as it is, and the police as they are, and the Government as it is, and the NSA and FBI as they are, it's a country I would not risk going to.
I felt this way some time before Trump turned up - it wasn't due to him.
At most you could say he is a further manifestation of the same processes.
I'm mid-forties and I make about 1000 USD a day contracting.
Skilled labour, very productive, worth a mint to my employer; but that's actually irrelevant - and this is the crucial point - if he wants to hire me, *then it's his business and his buiness alone*. That's what freedom is. No one else has *ANY* right to take freedom away from him.
The actual outcome of measures taken by the State are never the outcomes intended, or expected, or even *expectable*. The best thing the State can do is get out of the way.
Yeah, that qualifies :-/
HOW DID MELANIA TRUMP SECURE ‘GENIUS VISA’ FOR ‘EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY’ WHILE DATING THE FUTURE PRESIDENT?
What is interesting about this debate is that Canada, who many would assume is more open and accepting of immigrants, has the exact merit-based system so many in the US want. It's points based, and unless you have good education and lots of $$$, it's going to take you a long time to immigrate there.
The sad part is so many on the left in Canada would lambaste the US for their politics but don't understand their own immigration laws. DJT isn't more anti-immigration, it's levelling the playing field in many instances.
And you are correct, the racism argument is utterly wrong, but hey, everything is called racist nowadays. I would call those mud slingers the true 'deplorables' for trolling emotions on what needs to be a level headed conversation and debate.
for their parents, even at immigrant prices. They're relying on Medicare or family members or just plain hoping for the best that their parents don't wind up dead. Send the immigrants away and maybe they can afford it when they get new, better paying jobs. But even if they can't they're no worse off than they were before.
This is the problem with abandoning your working class. It creates warped incentives like this. As Trump put it, "What da ya got to lose?". The answer for a _lot_ of rust belters is nothing, nothing whatsoever.
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in what way is it the fault of social security being drawn down by the needy that is at fault for a shortfall: the trillions taken to "pay for" the bush era tax cuts are why the social security is not able to pay out. Grow the fuck up, moron.
Really? The racist argument is wrong?
Even after Big Giant Orange Head said he didn't want people from "shithole countries"? Even after BGOH suggested that immigrants from Norway would be welcome? Even after BGOH called Mexicans murderers and rapists, though a few might not be?
BGOH wants skilled white, non-Muslim immigrants. That is a racist policy, attitude and position.
It's sad when simply quoting BGOH isn't accepted as fact. Go ahead, submit some of your Alt-Facts (aka Lies) as evidence to the contrary. Oh right, there are is no evidence, "Mainstream Media" makes everything up, so evidence no longer exists, not even as a concept.
Talk about self-serving bullshit.