Importing More High-Tech Foreign Workers is a Mistake

Here we go again. A push for more immigrants.

This latest pro-immigration propaganda from Bill Gates is documented by Brietbart via Drudge

US high-tech companies are being forced to outsource more jobs overseas because of outdated restrictions on immigration, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told Congress Wednesday.

Gates, echoing a longstanding complaint from the technology sector, told a congressional panel that the US immigration system "makes attracting and retaining high-skilled immigrants exceptionally challenging for US firms."

"Congress's failure to pass high-skilled immigration reform has exacerbated an already grave situation," Gates said in remarks prepared for delivery to a hearing of the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee.

"As a result, many US firms, including Microsoft, have been forced to locate staff in countries that welcome skilled foreign workers to do work that could otherwise have been done in the United States, if it were not for our counterproductive immigration policies."

Gates said the limits on so-called H-1B visas aimed at highly skilled professionals are far too low for the rapidly growing tech sector.

He said the current cap of 65,000 H-1B visas "is arbitrarily set and bears no relation to the US economy's demand for skilled professionals."

The Microsoft founder noted that all the 65,000 visas for the current fiscal year were snapped up in one day last April and that employers are now waiting to apply for visas for fiscal 2009, starting in October.

"Last year, for example, Microsoft was unable to obtain H-1B visas for one-third of the highly qualified foreign-born job candidates that we wanted to hire," Gates said.

"If we increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to US companies, employment of US nationals would likely grow as well. For instance, Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities."

Let’s Examine this Claim

First of all, Gates claims “…Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities."
Yes, Microsoft hires a professional foreigner, cheaper that a comparable US worker then hires that foreigner lower level support staff.

In other words, the professional job goes to a cheap foreigner instead of an American and then the low level support jobs go to Americans. And, those four lower level jobs would also be needed if the professional were an American. The net result is that one out of five jobs, and the best one, goes to a foreigner.

Why? Not because Microsoft can’t find an American, but because foreigners are cheaper and they can be fired without the justification needed to fire American workers. Gates is being very disingenuous, he is obscuring the truth with unsubstantiated claims, and he is selling out America for short-term profits. He is also being disingenuous when he threatens to outsource jobs if he doesn’t get to hire foreign workers. He has already done that and will continue to do so.

Greedy ego-maniacs like Gates can’t seem to understand the long term consequences, or understand but do not care, of hiring foreigners to replace Americans. If the American workers are screwed in a downward spiral of fewer jobs and fewer good jobs then the greatest market in the world is also screwed downward. It is not in the best long-term interests of any business to have a depressed market of customers in America.

Moreover, Gates and other tech moguls whine about needing better education in America. Ask yourself; if the good tech jobs are given to foreigners is that not a disincentive for Americans to seek a technical education? It’s a vicious spiral and it is damaging to America.

Importing foreigners for 65,000 high tech jobs per year Americans can, and will gladly do, is a devastating blow to high tech American workers, to the colleges and universities who train them, and to our economy. In essence, Gates and his greedy cronies are creating the very shortages they are complaining about. And, there is no end to it-the more Americans you swindle out of job opportunities the more you can justify hiring foreigners.

We would be far, far better off socially and economically to impose a 5-10 year ban on H-1b visas and train more Americans for these good jobs. Trained high tech Americans are essential to our national economic and physical security. Importing more and more foreigners to take the good jobs from Americans is a threat to our national security.

Yes, we live in a global economy, but our immigration policies ought to be set with the best interests of all Americans in mind. American foreign policy, and especially immigration policy, ought to be devised to benefit America, not a small minority of greedy billionaires who only want short term profits and appear uninterested in what benefits their country.