USA tech sector sparks fears of separate immigration reform deal

Pro-immigration reform activists in the USA are afraid that the country’s technological giants’ support of a bill relating solely to the industry will scupper any chance of overall reform.

Senator Dick Durbin, one of the original team whose reform bill passed the Senate in 2013, has sent letters to leading companies in the industry urging them to stay committed to the broader changes at present before the House. Commitment to the pathway to citizenship for almost 12 million undocumented migrants is a major concern for Durbin.

America’s tech companies say they are in favour of comprehensive reforms, but frustration over Congress’s failure so far to pass the bill is underscoring the fragility of the diverse groups advocating the law. Suspicions are growing that the much-needed reform of the country’s entire immigration law structure is being forced onto the back burner in favour of single-sector interested parties’ requirements.

The coalition in favour of reform is a new departure in American politics for its breadth of members, pulled together from diverse business groups, academics, opposing religious organisations, labour unions, police chiefs and immigrant rights activists. Many believe that the diversity of the bill’s supporters is the group’s ultimate weakness.

Recent calls to Congress by Scott Corley urged the take-up of Skills Visa legislation to enable the present visa quota to be increased from 65,000 to 150,000. This would allow US tech firms to pull in computer engineers, computer scientists and other highly-skilled specialists from abroad, and has caused many to suspect that the industry is attempting to cut a deal for its own benefit.