S. 3217: Sponsors (2012)
2012: Sponsored S. 3217, the Startup Act 2.0, introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
2012: Sponsored S. 3217, the Startup Act 2.0, introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.)
S. 3217, the Startup Act 2.0, would would create 50,000 new STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) work visas for foreign students who graduate from a U.S. college with a master's degree or a Ph.D each year. The foreign students automatically earn 1-year work visa upon graduation and earn an additional 4-years if they are "actively engaged" at the end of the first year. At the end of the 5 year period, the foreign workers will be able for legal permanent worker status.
The Supreme Court decided unanimously today that the immigration status of parents can't help their adult-aged, illegal-alien children convicted of a crime. In the case Holder v. Martinez, the Court overturned a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that Carlos Martinez Gutierrez, who had been ordered deported, couldn't use his father's status as a lawful permanent resident to stay in the country.
This past week, three bills have been introduced by Senators from both sides of the aisle aimed at bringing more foreign STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers to the U.S. What the politicians and pundits are forgetting to mention is that there are eligible, U.S. workers out there to fill these jobs. I personally have friends who graduated this past week with engineering degrees and no job offers in sight.
A new Virginia law that goes into effect next summer will publish the unemployment rates for recent graduates of the state's colleges and universities. The law, which passed almost unanimously through both chambers of the Virginia state legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Bob McDonnell, was created after a study from Northeastern University found that 50% of recent college grads are unemployed or underemployed.
I'm starting to get a lot of media calls about our assessment of Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) who is being mentioned on a short-list for vice-presidential running mates for Mitt Romney. My answers are textured, but the bottom line is that his career immigration record in Congress earns him a D+ and a percentage rating that is the seventh worst of all 289 Republicans in the Senate and House.
Last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for an end to the Child Tax Care loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Sen. Sessions also criticized the administration's refusal to include mandatory E-Verify provisions in any of its jobs bills.
2012: Sponsored S. 3192, the SMART Jobs Act, introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
S. 3192, the SMART Jobs Act, would allow foreign nationals to study for master's degrees and Ph.Ds. at American colleges and universities in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields on non-immigrant visas. However, once these individuals graduate, they are free to compete against American workers for jobs and will receive a work permit once they find a job. The bill also creates a new class of visa, the F-4 visa.
Newark airport security supervisor, Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole, a Nigerian national used the name of a murder victim to hide his illegal alien status for twenty years. Authorities say Oyewole worked undetected for years as a security guard and later a security supervisor. Had the Legal Workforce Act, H.R. 2885, been enacted, the no-match provisions would have detected Oyewole.