Migration News - Migration news is a monthly digest of immigration happenings in the United States and across the world. Recent editions have highlighted recent developments in proposed H-1B expansions. Below are links to specific H-1B news summaries.
On September 27, 2000, The Washington Post and Associated Press detail Democratic plans to veto the appropriations bill for the State, Justice and Commerce departments if it does not include amnesty for illegal aliens.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution and National Journal's Congress Daily detail the upcoming H-1B cloture vote in their September 26 editions.
Congress Daily reports on Democratic strategies relating to the H-1B bill. on September 19.
With the 106th Congress coming to an end, things are heating up on Capitol Hill. With Republican leaders trying to move the H-1B bill, and Democrats trying to tack on an amnesty for illegal aliens, newspapers are starting to pay attention to the debate. The Industry Standard profiles the H-1B views of Gore and Bush, San Jose Mercury News provides regular updates of the legislation's status in Washington, DC and on President Clinton's remarks to the president of India, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution discusses the idea of including amnesty with the bill.
Congress Daily details Senator Trent Lott's new plans to move H-1B legislation on September 14. The article also highlights a new media awareness campaign running in Washington DC.
Norman Matloff decries "High Tech Cheap Labor" in the Washington Post op-ed section on September 12, while the Fresno Bee highlights plans for H-1B legislation as well.
A September 6 New York Times piece by Richard Rothstein details "How to Create a Shortage In a Skilled-Labor Market."
The Los Angeles Times covers an interesting angle of the H-1B debate: the spouses of H-1B visa holders.
Computerworld Magazine featured a "pro & con" debate on H-1B between Norman Matloff of UCSD and Harriss Miller of ITAA on August 28.
On August 25, the San Francisco Chronicle profiled the H-1B debate with a front page piece detailing the positions of the presidential candidates, key congressional leaders and interest groups shaping the debate on foreign temporary workers.
Knight-Ridder News Service explored the H-1B debate on August 23, 2000, while the San Jose Mercury News highlighted training programs that are placing American workers in high-tech jobs on August 17.
An August 15 Los Angeles Times article covers the GOP immigration stance and amnesty.
Several recent articles have highlighted the wishes of mass immigration lobbies to tie unrelated issues to pending H-1B legislation. A recent Associated Press article provides excellent backgroud to the current H-1B stalemate, while Congress Daily highlights the problems facing the GOP.
Sociologist and Demographer Meredith Burke chronicles the linkage between H-1B visas, mass immigration and U.S. population growth in a July 30 op-ed in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Congress Daily reported on July 25 that there is talk that the House is looking at tucking H-1B legislation into other bills, dealing with such unrelated issues as education.
Recently, a great deal has been written about the H-1B program's impact on minority workers. The Los Angeles Times highlighted the positions of The Urban League and the Coalition for Fair Employment in Silicon Valley on pending H-1B legislation. reported about the work of in its August 5 edition. The Washington Post highlights a new report by The Commission for the Advancement of Women and Minorities in Science, Engineering and Technology Development in a July 14 article.
In a special high-tech policy briefing on technology issues, Roll Call featured an op-ed by Rep. Lamar Smith about the nature of special interests in the current H-1B debate.
On June 8, Congress Daily highlighted the current delays in bringing an H-1B visa bill to the House floor for a vote.
An excellent article appeared in the May 31, 2000 Wall Street Journal about the linkage between propsed H-1B increases and a new amnesty for illegal aliens.
The May 28, 2000 Chicago Tribune article "Opponents rail against high-tech work visas" talks about two Americans who have been displaced by foreign temporary workers.
On February 21, 2000 The Baltimore Sun published an excellent piece, "Indentured servants for high-tech trade", detailing the link between temporary foreign workers and their employer sponsored immigration status.
Dr. Norman Matloff, Professor of computer science at University of California, Davis has compiled an extensive links to other news stories about the H-1B program.
With the expansion of the H-1B program ultimately leading to lower wages and increased competition for jobs, many columnists have covered this important issue and its potential impact on American workers. Below are a sample of a few recent columns.
- The Great Visa Scam. by Dan Stein. The Washington Times. August 17, 2000.
- Immigration reform, yes. More immigrants, no. by Meredith Burke. Minneapolis Star-Tribune. July 30, 2000.
- Rethinking the Economics of Immigration. by Alan B. Krueger. The New York Times, May 25, 2000.
- The IT Labor Shortage: Fact or Fiction? by Richard Ellis. Dr. Dobbs Journal. April, 2000.
Over the past few years, both the House Judiciary Committee has held hearings on the uses and abuses of the H-1B visa system. Transcripts for some hearings are available from the House Judiciary Committee site.
- May 25, 2000 - Oversight hearing on "The Status of Regulations Implementing the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998"
- August 5, 1999 - Oversight hearing on the H-1B Temporary Professional Worker Visa Program
- April 21, 1998 - Oversight hearing on "Immigration and America's Workforce for the 21st Century"
Currently a number of bills are under review that alter portions of the H-1B program. Those most often discussed are listed below.
House Bills:
- H.R. 4227 "Technology Worker Temporary Relief Act" by Lamar Smith
- H.R. 3983 "Helping to Improve Technology Education and Achievement Act of 2000" by Dreier & Lofgren
- H.R. 4200 "American Worker Information Technology Skills Improvement Act of 2000" by Jackson-Lee
Senate Bills:
- S. 2045 "American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000" by Hatch-Abraham
On September 26, 2000 the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) released a study aimed at identifying and correcting the H-1B visa program and protecting workers. The report found that "Labor's limited legal authority to enforce the program's weaknesses leave the program vulnerable to abuse." The GAO concluded that INS reviews are not adequate in finding noncompliance or abuse and "actions beyond those taken by INS are warranted." The 66-page report is available for the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00157.pdf .
The Center for Immigration Studies' Backgrounder Series focused on the H-1B issue in the March 2000 release "Indefinitely Temporary: Senate Boost to High-tech Guest Workers Will Block Green Cards," by Paul Donnelly. Additionally, the September 1999 Backgrounder "High-Tech Trojan Horse: H1-B Visas and the Computer Industry" by Norman Matloff sheds a great deal of light on the rampant abuse of the H-1B program.
Dr. Norman Matloff, Professor of computer science at University of California, Davis has completed extensive research on the high-tech labor market. His website is aimed at "Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage." It features an excellent H-1B FAQ along with updated information on recent developments in the H-1B program and Dr. Matloff's congressional testimony.
The H-1B Hall of Shame is a website centered on the abuse in the H-1B system It includes a listing of the top 100 H-1B dependant companies as well as a listing of "H-1B Horror Stories." A searchable database of over 69,000 records allows visitors to search for information about who is applying for H-1B workers.
Other organizations working on H-1B issues
Americans for Better Immigration
American Engineering Association
The Coalition for the Future American Worker (CFAW)
Organizations working on H-1B issues