Taking the Measure

Bill Gates appeared before Congress earlier this month to make the case that the US should loosen immigration rules for educated workers. The Wall Street Journal last week published a dialog between Robert Hoffman, an Oracle executive and head of a hi-tech lobbying group, and Ron Hira, an engineer and a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Hoffman, not surprisingly, took the side of Gates, who I have already argued has no credibility on this issue, despite the good works of his foundation. Hoffman adds little credibility with his platitudes (for example, “It's time for Congress to reform our temporary and permanent visa programs for highly skilled professionals for one simple reason: to secure America's innovative position in the global economy.”) that mask the true goal of acquiring cheap labor for Oracle and the other firms his lobbying group represents.

Hira, in rebuttal, gets down to specifics. The visa program, he writes, is seldom a bridge to immigration—instead, it’s a revolving-door training program where foreign workers train in the US briefly and then take their skills—and US jobs—home. He cites this example: “According to US Department of Labor data, Wipro, the second largest IT offshore outsourcing firm, applied for 19,450 H-1B positions in FY06 but only for 69 green cards. It is clear that Wipro has no interest in using the H-1B program as a bridge to immigration.”

He goes on to say, “We also know that the H-1B program is very poorly implemented and full of loopholes. In practice it is largely a system of self-regulation. Employers can and do pay below-market wages and many workers are exploited. The regulations in place are worse than deficient. They provide almost no protection for US workers' jobs and wages, and allow H-1B workers to be exploited…. The biggest misconception about H-1B is the widespread perception that H-1B workers are only used as a last resort. In fact, H-1B workers can be preferred over US workers and can even displace US workers. As the Department of Labor recently stated it in its strategic plan, ‘H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified US worker wants the job, and a US worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker.’"

As for market wages for visa holders, Hira writes, “Tata Consultancy Services was certified by the DOL to hire 10 computer programmers at $8.22 an hour and Infosys was certified to hire 100 programmers at $9.15 per hour.”

Hoffman’s response to that? “Let's get back to the bigger picture…”

I support foreign workers coming here, and for that matter I support opportunities for US workers to take foreign assignments. I have no idea what the optimum number of H-1B visas and green cards should be. I only know that the proponents of expanding the current H-1B program are doing a lousy job making their case.