Microsoft's immigration roundtable raises questions

A very interesting post from www.NumbersUSA.com about the problems of American STEM workers. This follows this post about crimes committed by illegals released due to Barack Obama's executive order. This follows this post about the Senate race in Texas.   This follows this post about the Black Caucus hurting Black Americans with their immigration stand. This follows this post about how to Report Illegal Immigrants! For more that you can do to get involved click HERE and you can read this very interesting book HERE.

Microsoft's immigration roundtable raises questions






By Jeremy Beck - posted on NumbersUSA



Washington Post editor Emi Kolawole walked away from a one-sided immigration roundtable with some questions which she shared with her readers in "Microsoft hosts skilled immigration roundtable." Here they are, along with some possible answers that I have provided:



(1) Why aren’t American students interested in science, technology, math and engineering?



American students are interested in these fields. Our educational system produces more science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM) graduates every year than there are available jobs. Kolawole's collegaue at the Post, Brian Vastag, wrote about this a few weeks ago in "U.S. pushes for more scientists, but the jobs aren't there."



Beryl Lief Benderly of the Columbia Journalism Review has criticized the media's failure to challenge shortage myths. In "What Scientist Shortage? The Johnny-can’t-do-science myth damages US research," Benderly wrote: "American college students have for decades shown strong and consistent interest in STEM; year after year, just under a third of all college students in this country earn degrees in those subjects. But, ironically, dismal career prospects drive many of the best of those students to more promising professions, such as medicine, law, or finance."



(2) And when they are, why do they pursue employment in non STEM fields — a phenomenon known as “diversion.” What role does ballooning student loan debt play?



Graduates have woken up to the fact that, given the current influx of non-immigrant workers taking American jobs, a career in a STEM field would be short-lived. With a constant supply of available overseas labor in addition to the glut of U.S. graduates, employers can easily replace their older, more expensive workers with younger cheaper ones. Facing an uncertain career path that could be over by age 35, STEM grads are naturally tempted by more stable professions. Forbes magazine wrote last year that, "Between 2003 and 2006 the percentage of graduates from MIT going into financial services rose...to almost 25%...Financial firms offer considerably higher pay, better career prospects and insulation against off-shoring..." ("Is The Financial Sector Gobbling Up The U.S.' Would-Be Entrepreneurs?," 4/13/11). And, yes, the H-1B program accelerates offshoring. Just ask Diane Drozdowski who trained two people to replace her and take her job back with them overseas.



Few people would willingly stay in a field that makes them obsolete before they can repay their student loans.



(3) And, of course, what of the perception among those in the general public that a job given to an H-1B visa recipient from overseas would take a job away from an otherwise qualified American or depress wages?



According to the Department of Labor's 2006 Strategic Plan, "H-1Bworkers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker." The H-1B program wasn't sold as a way to replace U.S. workers - but it was written that way. Just ask Mary discovered employers have no responsibility under the law to give her a shot at a U.S. job over a foreign workers; or this immigration lawyer from Visa Pro who reassures employers that they do not have to prove that they have attempted to hire U.S. workers before applying for foreign workers. As the Cohen and Grigsby law firm was notoriously caught saying: "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker."



Unlike legal permanent workers or U.S. citizens, H-1B workers cannot demand market wages because their employers hold their visas. The law allows employers to pay their H-1B workers the "prevailing wage," which ends up being $18,000 a year less than the median wage for U.S. workers, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. In 2011, Greater Missouri Medical Pro-Care Providers, Inc. told a judge that they earned a profit of $1,000 per month for every H-1b workerthey hired.



The H-1B program results in fewer jobs for U.S. workers. In 1998, Dan Sullivan, Qualcomm's Senior Vice President of HR, testified before Congress that "rather than taking jobs from American labor pools, [foreign workers] are creating more jobs for U.S. workers through the application of their specialized skills." At the time, U.S.-born workers made up 94.5 percent of Qualcomm's workforce. Twenty years after Sullivan's testimony, the percentage of American-born workers at Qualcomm dropped to approximately 40 percent.



Although Kolawole didn't find the answers to her questions at Microsoft's roundtable, the answers are out there for people who want to find them.



JEREMY BECK is the Director of the Media Standards Project for NumbersUSA



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