A group of about 50 former government apparatchiks sent a letter today to Congress urging the lawmakers to remove the caps currently in place on green cards for foreign holders of advanced technical degrees.
Congress is gearing up this summer to reconcile the differing House and Senate versions of a bill supporters say will aid America’s competitive posture vis-à-vis China. One facet of the bills is the granting of green cards to high-tech graduates, regardless of whether they are from U.S. or foreign universities. The letter-writers, which include former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of Energy Steve Chu, and former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security Kari Bingen among dozens of others, want Congress to remove all the limits on such work permit giveaways, with the intention of encouraging the recipients to stay in the U.S.
Administration mouthpiece Axios quotes one Remco Zwetsloot, an immigration researcher in support of the proposal: “People are recognizing very critical national security goals can’t be achieved unless international STEM talent has a way to come and stay in the U.S.”
Officials at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), on the other hand, tweeted:
They are calling for an UNLIMITED number of green cards for high-skilled foreign nationals such as “outstanding professors and researchers,” a well-known source of Chinese espionage. Not only is this dangerous, it does nothing to assist American-grown STEM talent.
Both bills are Democrat-sponsored, but–to no one’s surprise–some Republican senators, including Rob Portman (R-OH) and John Cornyn (R-TX), have indicated possible support of the unlimited green card giveaway.
All in all, this is just another example of what has become a common refrain: If you can’t beat them, become them.
For more, see Newsmax.