Micah De Voe

Dr. Erika Cornelius Smith

PSCI 315 ON2
08/07/2017

Immigration Reform for Economic Prowess

The Trump administration has recently backed a bill that would reform the current immigration

system in the United States. This bill has been labeled the RAISE Act, or S. 354. Last week I

discussed H.R. 65 which is known by the same name and it is important to draw the distinction

between the two as they are completely different bills dealing with completely different policy

areas. S. 354 would create a points based immigration system, assigning point based on English

language fluency, education and age. The goal of this bill is to give precedence and favor to

skilled foreign labor.

At this time, the United States is in a very interesting economic situation. The tech industry is

booming and the need for skilled workers in that industry is ever growing. The difficult factor of

this is that most of the talent and know how is overseas. Looking over the major businesses

that basically run the business world in terms of systems and computer networks, most are

owned and/or operated by foreign nationals. Google, Adobe, Microsoft and Tesla are only a

handful of the companies that are not only run by foreign nationals but are increasingly

dependent on foreign talent and engineering.

When it comes to the tech and manufacturing industries, the major competitor to the US is

none other than China. With cheap labor, large amounts of resources and a work force literally
second to none, it is no wonder that they are the main trading partner of the US. However,

there are some tensions between Washington and Beijing that go back a few decades, which

have not been improved by a Trump administration. During the election, then candidate Trump

accused China of stealing jobs from American shores and causing job shortages among

Americans. In years past, and even more currently with the growing threat of North Korea,

China has been looked down on by using North Korean labor in near slave conditions, creating

low cost because of incredibly low labor rates.

The goal of this administration is to create incentives to bring business back to the US by

reducing corporate taxes and making it more efficient and economical to do business. The goal

is to attract industries that are on the rise. Some of those industries are, as mentioned before,

tech based companies. The wonderful thing about tech based companies is that there is literally

no limit to what they can be involved in. For example, you have Google that is trying to

automate cars, there is Tesla that has created the most efficient solar panel to date and have

made it in to strips that replace the tiles of your roof. The best part? Its now cheaper than your

standard roofing material. Bio technology is working on individualized DNA therapy for cancer

patients. Wind farms, solar fields and off shore tidal generators are all new ideas in the

renewable energy sector and each of these technologies was designed and implemented by

non-native born Americans.

In order for these innovations to continue, the US needs immigrants. For that reason, this

administration is trying to make it easier for highly qualified individuals to gain entry to the

United States. Through this bill, if passed, those who possess a bachelors, masters or doctorate

degree, or the foreign equivalent, in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM)

would be given preference over those that do not. Furthermore, those that are able to prove

fluency in English through the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) are given

even more preference. Age is also considered with the prime age being between 31-35 years of

age.

Looking over these favored aspects, one might wonder what it is that the government is trying

to do and what they are looking for in general. But when one takes a closer look the answers

start to become a little clearer. In the industries listed above, we need educated talent. People

who have studied and learned and have gained the valuable knowledge needed in these areas.

Fluency in English would be obvious as language barriers can create issues in making progress.

If a person can jump in to a position quickly, they will be of more use to projects and overall

efficiency. Increased age will more often than not lead to previous experience, skill sets and

understanding that people younger than them might not have but also have a forward thinking

mindset that those older than them may not have. Ultimately, the thought process here is that

by bringing in experienced, skilled and educated workers, we can push the boundaries of the

science and technology that America has been known for, for decades.

As I came to these realizations, I had to stop and think, what group or groups of people would

benefit best from this law? The American people or those coming here? The answer, though

not as clear as I would like, would be both. The people gain from the innovations of these

immigrants and their hard work, and the immigrants are able to build a life in the US,

propagating the American Dream. The second question was, from where would we see a

major influx of immigrants? Every time that the US eases immigration, there is always a tidal
wave of applicants to enter our borders. Although in this case we are looking for a specific set

of people, that tidal wave will still come.

So from where would the United States find a population of highly educated, skilled,

experienced English speakers? Again, the answer may not be perfectly clear at first, but on

further thought, the answer becomes clear. India, like the early American colonies, was under

British rule for nearly 200 years. In which time English became the predominant language of

trade and commerce, even to this day. It is for this reason that most tech support is in India. As

the tech markets expanded, companies needed huge amounts of people that understood the

systems, spoke English and where the labor was cheap in comparison to the American markets.

But what would that mean for the American markets and for overall economic power? In my

opinion, I believe that this is where the Trump administration is quietly and deliberately playing

in immigration to effect trade as it currently stands. First off, looking at Silicon Valley, the

majority of tech startups are primarily Indian Immigrant owned. As of 2015 it was estimated

that there were over just under 1 million Indian immigrant engineers in California alone. So the

tech markets are already being led and pushed forward by this massive force of workers. For

further proof, Google, PepsiCo, Adobe Systems and Microsoft are run by Indian businessmen

and woman, all of whom fit the exact criteria set forth by the RAISE Act. Furthermore, if it is

educated people we want, India is great supply. Although exact numbers are hard to come by,

as many sources dont agree, it is estimated that between 4.5% and 8% of the population of

India has at least a bachelors degree. Although this number does not seem impressive, we

must take in to account the fact that India has a population of over 1.3 billion people, and is

rivaled only by China in overall population. With that in mind, even with the lowest of
estimates, that puts the number of Indian graduates to over 59 million people. That is more

college graduates than the combined population of California and Texas. If we were to use the

loftier numbers at 8%, it would be equivalent to the amount of total college graduates in the

United States, roughly around 106 million people.

In addition to that, the majority of Indian graduates are in a STEM field, primarily engineering. I

once heard a joke from an Indian friend asking me if I knew what the primary export of India

was. Thinking I was smart I answered something agriculture, and with a grin he answered back

engineers. Although some may take it in bad taste, this joke isnt far off the mark. But what

benefit would the United States have to bring more Indians into the country, aside from

technological or other STEM projects and progress? The answer lies in the ultimate goal of this

administration, Make America Great Again.

To understand how to become great again, we must understand how we got great to begin

with. Ultimately it was technological advancement in railroads, the telegraph,

telecommunications, and investment in to the betterment of the nation. Eventually, the nation

was above all others and investors werent seeing the same returns on municipal projects as

they had previously. So they decided to begin investing in foreign interests and development.

One of the most notable among these ventures being the Panama Canal.

Today, we have a very similar opportunity in development investment in India and many

companies are beginning to recognize this as well. China has held the electronics manufacturing

market for decades, but India is starting to push in on the game. Earlier this year, Apple started

production of the IPhone SE in a new plant in Bengaluru, India. This replaces one of their
factories Fuzhou, China. Agriculture is the primary industry of India with over 60% of workers

being attached to some function farming. However, these are typically small farms that feed

small areas with limited technological assistance. India also has large swaths of open land that

arent used for farming or any other type of use. These areas would be perfect candidates for

renewable energy fields such as solar or wind power. With the proper backing, both agriculture

and renewable energy could increase production and efficiency to near US levels. Not to

mention that India is the 4th largest producer of wheat. With the right incentives, the crops

could be used to end the food shortage in the country by making it less costly to produce and

more available to those in need.

The possibilities in India are endless! Their people are ready for change and they have the

educated people to plan it and the labor force to build it. What is missing is the proper

appropriation of funds. But what does this have to do with immigration? As more people come

to the United States from India, they take with them the contacts and networks form their

mother land. They can then use those networks to collaborate on projects and help both

American and Indian business succeed. As these companies progress, more people are

employed, educated and compensated creating more opportunities to invest in the

development of both nations.

The same thing happened in China after Nixon repealed the trade embargo and business began

to build between the two nations. Only 50 years ago, the US wanted nothing to do with the

largest communist nation on earth and now they hold the number one spot for US trade. The

same thing could happen with India. Trade is already established and they hold the 9 th spot for

the most amount commerce done with the US. If done properly, this influx of desirable
immigrants could increase relations between the two countries, not just on the political

spectrum but between people. If people stand together, anything can be accomplished. The

Civil Rights movement of the 1960s showed us that. The more that India becomes a normal

part of American life and business, the more that American investors will pour money into the

country for projects of betterment.

Overall, India is much more open to western lifestyle and culture as opposed to their Chinese

counterparts. China holds an ideology of keeping Chinese tradition and culture in place and that

westernization is only to be tolerated when there is no other option. After many years of

occupation and foreign control, first be the Japanese and then by the British, a time referred to

in China as the Hundred Year Humiliation, China is still not ready to step up as a full-fledged

regional leader. This was proven even more so this year when Trump declared that the US

would be removing its self from the Paris Climate Treaty. President XI Jinping had an

opportunity as the next largest nation in the agreement to take a stance of solidarity to the

treaty. Instead, the Chinese simply stated that they would continue as previously planned and

outlined, which wasnt much at all.

India on the other hand is prepared to make the necessary changes in trying to reduce and

eventually eliminate their carbon footprint. However, they are again constrained by revenue

and means. This gives many tech companies the opportunity to target the renewable energy

markets in this region and not just for global climate reasons. Renewable energy can be placed

in remote areas where normal societal utilities have not yet reached. These companies, with

the proper funding and motivation can help to bring the most seclude parts of India up to the
first world level and making this developing nation one of the leaders in the global community.

For this reason, the Silicon Valley of Asia is not in China, but is instead in Bangalore, India.

Many of these goals seem like they would be to the sole benefit of Indians and to them alone.

But by looking at the investment opportunities that American business has, it becomes a clear

win-win situation for both nations. Similar actions have been taken with other nations. By

making it easier to come here and work, other nations have been able to prosper. We saw this

with Japan and Germany after the Second World War, China after Vietnam and even Russia

after the Cold War. Taking all of this into account, I believe that the current administration is

using tried and true methods to bring about economic prowess back to America, through

immigration reform.

References

India and Climate Change. (n.d.). Retrieved August 09, 2017, from
https://www.c2es.org/international/key-country-policies/india
Koshy, J. (2016, January 14). Indian engineers, scientists in U.S. nearing one million.
Retrieved August 08, 2017, from http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Indian-engineers-
scientists-in-U.S.-nearing-one-million/article14000053.ece

Meltzer, J. P., & Singh, H. V. (2017, June 22). Growing the U.S.-India economic relationship:
The only way forward. Retrieved August 08, 2017, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-
front/2017/06/22/growing-the-u-s-india-economic-relationship-the-only-way-forward/
Ali, D. W. (2017, May 12). Trump US visa restrictions on L1 and H1B visas will drive jobs
abroad warn Indian IT chiefs. Retrieved August 08, 2017, from
http://www.workpermit.com/news/trump-us-visa-restrictions-l1-and-h1b-visas-will-drive-jobs-
abroad-warn-indian-it-chiefs
More than just Pichai and Nadella: Indians now the biggest power players in silicon valley.
(2015, August 12). Retrieved August 08, 2017, from http://www.firstpost.com/business/more-
than-just-sundar-pichai-and-satya-nadella-indians-now-the-biggest-power-players-in-silicon-
valley-2387058.html
Lee, T. (2015, November 20). Why Asia's Silicon Valley is in India, not China. Retrieved
August 08, 2017, from https://www.techinasia.com/china-india-startups-silicon-valley