Weekend Reading: Highlights from this week’s immigration news (April 4 – 8)
Date: April 9, 2016
In the Tallahassee Democrat, the President of Independent Colleges & Universities in Florida, Dr. Ed Moore, argues that the passage of the Florida Seal of Biliteracy “reflects legislators’ commitment to make Florida a welcoming state to international business and talent, and shows we are working proactively to ensure our graduates are competitive in this increasingly global market. It incentivizes students to pursue foreign languages.”
Out West, Salt Lake’s Deseret News issued an editorial stating that “instead of scapegoating immigrants, Salt Lake County has recognized the value of recruiting and supporting new residents who can serve in an entrepreneurial capacity to further economic growth. The county has helped form the ‘New Americans Task Force,’ made up of 60 business and community leaders called together to brainstorm ways to recruit and support immigrant entrepreneurs. The initiative is not about charity. Business leaders have come to recognize that new immigrants guide innovation in many fields. More than a third of innovators were born outside of the [United States], according to Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, who helped organize the task force.”
This week, the government reached its H-1B application limit, and Yale’s Vikram Mansharamani penned an appeal to the next U.S. president to raise the annual number of visas issued. Published on PBS.org, Mansharamani writes: “Too many brilliant non-citizens who want to contribute to our economy (including graduates of our world-leading universities) are not able to do so. Last year, 233,000 people applied for H-1B visas, a program for skilled foreigners capped at 85,000. With the U.S. unemployment rate hovering near 5 percent, now is an opportune time to raise the quota. Economists have found that these individuals create jobs for native-born Americans and that artificially restricting their entry hurts American growth.”
When it comes to American attitudes toward immigrants, Rosemarie Alba of Christianity Daily reports: “Polls and studies have been conducted recently to address the immigration reform issue in the United States. Findings show favorable results for undocumented immigrants and magnify their positive contribution to the U.S. economy.”
See also:
Thursday was #WorldHealthDay: Read our blog post to learn how immigrants are helping to keep America healthy.
