Tech advocates call on Congress to increase high-skilled immigration to the US

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — With U.S. employers struggling to fill millions of job openings, advocates are calling on Congress to let more high-skilled immigrants enter the workforce.

“We have long seen the benefits of high-skilled immigration to the U.S. economy,” TechNet CEO Linda Moore said.

A recent study by TechNet, a tech industry advocacy group, found increasing high-skilled immigration results in economic growth.

“Immigrants also expand the tax base and innovation and create jobs all across the country,” Moore said.
Moore says it’s a labor force the country needs.

“America is just not graduating enough high-skilled workers to fill the shortage in the American economy,” Moore said.

However, Moore says outdated H-1B visa guidelines make it hard for companies to hire high skilled workers. She’s urging Congress to take action.

“We want to make it easier to create a comprehensive immigration reform structure in the country,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said.

Gillibrand believes allowing more high-skilled immigration has wide-ranging benefits.

“For our country, for our communities, for our families, for our culture and for the strength of our overall economy,” Gillibrand said.

But Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) says lawmakers shouldn’t make any changes until they solve the southern border crisis.

“I believe our immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, the current administration believes that we should have a policy of open borders,” Cornyn said.

Cornyn says once the border is secure, Republicans will be open to cooperating on immigration reform.