Immigration reform is one of the most divisive issues in the United States today.
Republicans are staunchly in favor of reform, saying that many criminals and terrorists are sneaking through the border and causing havoc on U.S. streets. President Trump has vowed to tighten the reins on immigration, starting with an executive order that temporarily banned visitors from certain Muslim countries.
The tech industry is strongly opposed to any immigration reform. If anything, the world’s largest tech companies want the ability to hire more skilled foreign labor, not less. Most companies headquartered in the San Francisco area are finding that they just can’t fill every position they want. There’s a prominent shortage.
If the current administration’s immigration reforms accelerate, many of the world’s largest tech companies could have problems even maintaining current staff levels.
Most tech employees come to the United States using H-1B visas. The U.S. government awards 85,000 of them a year using a lottery system. Which House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has said one of the President’s upcoming moves on immigration reform will target H-1B visas.
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is one company that could be impacted hard if the H-1B visa program is changed. According to a report by Reuters, some 15% of Facebook’s staff is in the United States under H-1B visas, the highest percentage of any tech company.
Facebook isn’t the only company that could be impacted. All of America’s tech giants rely heavily on the program to fill vacancies. If changes are made to limit the number of visas issued, it would impact the entire sector.
