Why Is The Silicon Valley Fighting Against The Immigration Ban Of President Trump?


02/08/2017

Silicon Valley “has no choice but to fight”.



Robert Cyran reports that Silicon Valley is putting up a fight to sustain its immigration based life. As of now, more than hundred tech firms, like “Google, Facebook and Apple”, have joined arms in the battle against the U.S. President’s executive ban on seven major Muslim countries’ nationals that sought to resolve things on a legal ground.
 
Their argument is that the restriction order impedes their “hiring and business operations”, as one can notice that the industry that depends on immigrants, the above mentioned argument highlights the “self-evident” truth which is “worth defending” for them. During an amicus briefing, these firms pointed out that immigrants have a “disproportionate role” to play in companies’ establishment, as it has done for “all new U.S. businesses” that began their journey between the year of 2006 and the year of 2010.
 
America still shines its beacon over other countries when it comes to the field of “medicine, technology and engineering”, thus becoming the destination for “ambitious people” from all over the world. It is a fact that all the six winners of Nobel Prizes in the category of “sciences and economics” in the U.S. for the year of 2016 are “immigrants”, whereby Cyran writes:
“Silicon Valley amplifies both trends. It's a machine that mixes talented people, drive, ideas and capital and churns out companies. Over half of unicorns - private companies worth over $1 billion - were founded by immigrants, according to the National Foundation for American policy. This isn't a new trend. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, eBay's Pierre Omidyar and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang were all immigrants”.
 
Moreover, the industry of technology has to depend on immigrants to maintain its company hum. Approximately, over fifty percent of the “H1-B visas” are absorbed into this industry as it enables recruitment of “specialty workers to this country” on a temporary basis. Nevertheless, there are others in the industry who turn to the programme for bringing in “cheap workers” which helps in maintaining low wages. Given the above mentioned reasons, it is a no surprise that these companies are strongly opposing the ban.
 
Although, the brief calls the ban an “arbitrary” act of a “discriminatory nature”, the real “motivation” cannot be mistaken that the Silicon Valley is fighting to “defend” its “business model”. Furthermore, continues Cyran:
“The travel ban is also a personal affront to many of the executives who now call the United States home”.
 
According to Cyran, the industry is also afraid that this may be only the “first shot against immigration”, as the ban could very be applicable to other countries through extension. While, President Trump informed that “he is studying changes to the H1-B program” as the “Republicans in Congress” are busy “drafting bills” for restricting “other forms of legal immigration”.
 
 
 
References:
http://www.reuters.com