In his first avatar as POTUS Trump targeted the
undocumented illegal immigrants with his usual ham handedness much to the
delight and applaud of his MAGA supporters. In his second avatar as POTUS he is
aiming high skilled immigrants who have entered U.S. by legal channels because
he and his MAGA maniacs feel these high skilled overseas workers are taking up
jobs that would otherwise go to white Americans. Really! How many STEM
graduates is the U.S. producing among it's MAGA supporters?
Vice President Vance feels the legal immigrants
undercut employment opportunities for American students and workers, and so
they should be kept out of the U.S. Had this been the attitude of their
forefathers then Musks, Huangs, and Nadella would have never got an opportunity
to enter the U.S! They would rather have moved to a country that was more
welcoming and enriched it instead by their excellence, dedication and passion.
Students with strong academic potential face barriers in the U.S. largely due to restrictive immigration
policies, political interference in education, and state-level
polarization, shaping access and opportunities. Tighter immigration rules are making
it harder for international students to enter or remain in the U.S. Costlier visas, stricter visa requirements, visa
processing delays and denials, reduced work authorization options and increased
scrutiny of applicants are all strong disincentives for students who are
meritorious but not affluent. Policies such as ending the long-standing
“Duration of Status” system now impose fixed
visa periods and require federal approval for extension, create uncertainty for students in long duration programmes.
With these absurd visa policies targeting the
highly skilled, POTUS is effectively killing the goose that lays the golden eggs
for that U.S. economy. Had these policies been advocated four decades back then
tech behemoth and Czars of corporate America of today, who have either founded
or managed the companies like Google, Nvidia, SpaceX, Tesla, Intel,
PayPal, Moderna and Yahoo would have been stopped at immigration or deported. Where
would the American economy be without them? Can you even imagine Corporate
America without the immigrant corporate titans Elon Musk, Sergy Brin,
Satya Nadella, Jensen Huang, Andy Grove, Jerry Yang, Niklas Zennstròm and
Sunder Pichai?
These very visas, POTUS is attacking today, helped the corporate stars of the American business stratosphere to enter U.S.
then, when they were young and full of energy and potential. After passing
through premier educational institutions from all over the world and from
American Universities they had used OPT and H-1B visas as stepping stones to
make their careers and create their companies. They helped America to achieve
the dizzying heights it enjoys today, and created employment and opportunities
for innumerable Americans.
Immigration to the United States has its roots
in the colonial era, when European settlers came looking for a fresh start,
economic opportunity, and religious freedom. Millions of immigrants from
Europe, mostly from Ireland, Germany, Italy, and Eastern Europe, landed on
American soil in pursuit of a better life during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. Now their descendants are resenting newer immigrants!
In order to support economic growth and meet
the workforce needs of a rapidly industrializing country, the United States
established an open-door policy during that time. But as the immigrant
population grew, conflicts started to emerge. Certain populations, particularly
those from Asia, Southern, and Eastern Europe, faced discrimination and
nativist attitudes. Restrictive laws designed to reduce immigration from
particular areas include the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the introduction
of quotas in the Immigration Act of 1924.
Early 20th-century anti-immigrant sentiment was
fueled by worries about national security, employment competitiveness, and
cultural assimilation. Discussions over immigration have become more divisive
and heated over the past few decades. Passionate discussions have been sparked
in American politics and society over issues including unauthorized
immigration, economic effects, and national security. The Comprehensive Immigration
Reform proposals from 2006 and 2013 are only two examples of attempts to change
the immigration system that have had difficulty winning support from lawmakers. Balancing national security goals, economic
realities, and humanitarian considerations has frequently led to deadlocks in
policymaking and inconsistent enforcement procedures. Immigration has grown to
be a contentious issue that exposes ideological and cultural divides in
American society.
Modern data shows immigrants remain essential to the U.S. economy. Immigrants paid over $500 billion in taxes in 2021 and make up 22% of U.S. entrepreneurs. The
account for 22.8% of STEM workers and immigrant innovators like Nikola Tesla, Enrico Fermi, and John von Neumann shaped electricity, nuclear science, and computing.
Immigrants have been foundational to America’s economic strength, cultural
diversity and global leadership. They have enriched America’s science, arts,
music, food, religion and tradition.
Even an amateur can see that a quarter of all
unicorn start-ups in America have immigrant founders who arrived in the U.S. as
students. A fifth of companies financed by venture capitalists have founders
who are immigrants and 75% entered the U.S. on a student visa. A $ 70,000 Visa
fee for fresh international graduates who wish to enter OPT will surely kill
the programme. The year 2024 had 419,000 international graduates working under
OPT. With the new law intending to maul this programme the U.S. will lose half
a million trained professionals. The timing too is nothing but ironic - when
China is seriously challenging the U.S. for technological supremacy.
Research shows that many MAGA supporters operate within media and ideological environments that reinforce selective narratives. They often rely on hyper-partisan media sources
that validate preexisting beliefs. They live and resonate in their own
eco-chambers which make a villain of every immigrant – legal or illegal. These “epistemic silos” limit exposure to broader historical or
economic data, including the role immigrants play in American innovation. When information contradicts the preferred narrative, it is more likely to be dismissed as biased or “anti‑American.”
So, the immigrants, who are the highest tax payers today are Anti-Americans for
the MAGA crowd.
There is a lesson and an opportunity for the
middle powers - India, Canada, and Australia. Attracting these trained
professionals and providing them with opportunities will bear fruits in the
long run. China is actively working to attract talent through a comprehensive talent recruitment programs, visa facilitation, and
generous financial incentives, with the aim of enhancing
There is an interesting video in YouTube on this topic, which you might like: https://youtu.be/Jlkl54aBgaM?si=Mat-r90WmB_cCeUv
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