As part of an immigration reform proposal, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee called for an increase in H-1B visas, visas given to immigrants with high-tech skills, such as those in the so-called STEM fields.
The issue is largely bipartisan, with the Democratic-led committee approving this increase and, in fact, Republicans in the House of Representatives have called the increase insufficient and countered with the SKILLS Visa Act, expanding the program by another 30,000 visas.
However, not everyone is happy that Congress is likely to pass some kind of increase in the near future.
Host Carmen Russell-Sluchansky spoke with Norman Matloff, a professor at UCLA where he teaches computer science, to discuss the issue. He says the call for more skilled immigrants is merely pre-text for companies to pay less for high-value labor.
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He also spoke with Madeline Zavodny, chair of economics at Agnes Scott College, to discuss the story.
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