The H-1B visa debate: Pain and the politics

[Newsjock]

Source: Computerworld

This week's hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee concerning the H-1B visa program offered a compendium of thought, insight and friction.

Based on reporting from that hearing, official testimony and information from other sources, here is a look at some of the emotion and analysis around the controversial issue.

This report begins in the hurricane's eye, at Southern California Edison (SCE), which has cut some 500 IT workers and replaced them with H-1B workers hired by offshore contractors. In many cases, Edison workers had to train their replacements.

... "People aren't commodities., they're human beings, they have families, they have hopes and dreams, they want stability in their life," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who heads the immigration subcommittee and believes the H-1B program is being abused.

... Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who was at the hearing, staked out a position aimed at appealing to both sides. "For every 100 H-1B workers, an additional 183 jobs are created for American-born workers. Plain and simple, it's a myth that the H-1B visa program takes jobs away from Americans," said Schumer. (His reference to 183 jobs came from a report by the American Enterprise Institute and Partnership for a New American Economy. Partnership co-chairs include Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft; Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York; and Bob Iger, CEO of Disney.)

Read more: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2899350/the-h-1b-visa-debate-pain-and-the-politics.html?nsdr=true

[antigop]

1. Schumer referencing an American Enterprise Institute report. Says it all. nt

[Thor_MN]

2. The H-1B is supposed to be used to only hire where the employer can not find US workers.

There should never be stories where 500 IT workers were let go and replaced by H1-B as that would be a violation of the Visa. But it happens all the time.