Two Meaningful Ways Tech Can Weigh In on Immigration Before August 10th
As you know, the fights over immigration policy continue to rage in D.C. with delay of the International Entrepreneur Rule and introduction of the Raise Act. Despite—or because of—this, our community continues to support reforms to the system that keep our nation’s doors open to entrepreneurs, high-skilled workers, and those who want to make a better life for themselves here. Indeed, many of our member companies were founded, in whole or in part, by immigrants, and the actions around this proposed legislation stand in opposition to the founding of the next AppNexus, Google, Sprinklr, or WeWork.
In January, thousands of you signed our letter that opposed the Trump Administration’s travel ban, and since then many of you have continued to ask how to best stay involved. Today, we’re writing with two meaningful ways you can weigh in now on this important issue.
International Entrepreneur Rule
Background: The International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), a policy that would have allowed more immigrants to start and bring young and growing businesses to the United States, has been delayed by the Trump Administration and will likely be rescinded entirely. The IER is a good policy that would have spurred more entrepreneurship and added more diversity to startup ecosystems in the U.S.
Action: We urge our member companies and their employees to submit comments in support of the IER before the August 10th deadline. Effective comments can be short and should not take long to write—even a few sentences can have a real impact on the process. For reference, here are the more extensive comments Tech:NYC submitted last year.
The RAISE Act
Background: Senators Cotton and Perdue just announced a bill called the RAISE Act, with the support of the Trump Administration, that would implement a “skills-based immigration system” and, troublingly, cut legal immigration in half. The articulated rationale for the bill is quite deceptive because supporters claim it will increase the number of skills-based immigrants, but the bill does not actually increase the cap on green cards allocated annually for skills-based immigrants.
Action: We encourage our members and their employees to call and write to their representatives in the House and Senate to let them know this proposal is not only morally wrong, but also bad for creating new jobs and startups in the U.S.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on this issue as it relates to our community. If you would like to be more closely involved, don’t hesitate to reach out.