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The September 11th terrorist attack on the United States has shifted Congressional debate on Immigration, and endangered prospects for an expansion of the H-1B visa program. Created to address American companies' growing need for information technology workers, the H-1B visa allows immigrants with information technology skills to seek employment and reside in the United States. In 1990, a cap on H-1B entrants limited immigration to 65,000 people a year.

Industry groups such as the Information Technology Industry Council and think tanks such as the Cato Institute have insisted that the caps must either be raised or entirely abolished to maintain economic growth. Citing low unemployment rates among such professions as engineering and computer science, these groups aggressively support the H-1B visa program as a necessity for high-tech health, and as a source of labor that does not hurt American workers.

Groups supporting such websites as the "H-1B Hall of Shame", paint a different picture. Claiming that H-1B stories are censored by the media, such organizations opposed to the H-1B visa program attempt to point out some of its alleged ills. Opponents of immigration through the H-1B visa say that there are plenty of Americans to fill information technology jobs and that the program is an attempt to import cheap labor. Further, these groups claim that many of the benefits promised to these immigrants are unfulfilled when they begin employment.

Recent legislation expanded the 1990 cap, attempting to fill high demand for high-tech workers in such sectors as computer science, engineering, and systems management. However, in legislation before the turn of the century, Congress has balanced such needs with legislation demanding consideration of American workers for such information technology jobs. On May 21, 1998, the U.S. Senate passed The American Competitiveness Act (S. 1723), which increased the cap on H-1B visa entrants to 115,000 in 1999, 115,000 in 2000, and 107,500 in 2001. For the fiscal years 2002 and beyond, the cap would be restored to previous levels of 65,000. The legislation balances this cap increase with provisions protecting Aagainst displacement of United States workers.

This legislation was followed by a bill enacted in 2000, entitled The American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000 (S. 2045), which responded to increased demand for high tech labor by further increasing the caps to 195,000 yearly for 2001 through 2003. It further exempted visa status for those immigrants previously employed by academic institutions. Industry groups lauded this legislation as a significant step to continued economic prosperity, while opposition feared that immigrants were displacing qualified Americans.

After the September 11 tragedy, views in Congress concerning immigration soured, and many called for strict border controls. Rep. Tancredo (R B CO) has been one of the most vocal skeptics of immigration in the 127th Congress. Although bills relating to H-1B visas have yet been introduced in the current session of Congress, fallout from the September 11th tragedy seems to have provided justification among some circles on Capitol Hill for a general tightening of our borders. In fact, Rep, Tancredo chairs the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, which notes on its website that "With the events of Sept. 11th, in the second session of the 107th Congress, the caucus will no doubt continue to establish the link between open borders, unregulated immigration and the potential for terrorism. In addition, the caucus will push for legislative proposals which will help secure America's borders, including the creation of a comprehensive visa tracking system such as H.R. 3525."

This strict control and skepticism concerning immigration extends to H-1B visa proposals. A February 4, 2002 article by Informationweek.com had this to say about Tancredo's views: "He's introduced a bill to roll back the number of H-1B visas granted each year to the 1997 level of 65,000YTancredo says he's "absolutely opposed" to the visas: "I was never convinced of organizations' claims of a great need for people with particular skills." As Congress readies for the 2002 midterm elections, the fate of the H-1B program hangs in the balance.

Related Links:

• Center for Trade Policy Studies

• Information Technology Industry Council

• Immigration Reform Caucus

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