Tech Companies Dealing With Effects Of Trump's Immigration Ban

[ChiefScooter]

I think more relevant is the new H-1B Visa bill that was just introduced. That will have much more of an impact on the tech industry.

The new proposal asks for the minimum salary of those on H-1B visas to be doubled to $130,000 a year and makes it difficult for tech giants to hire foreign workers, including Indians, over Americans.

According to ComputerWorld magazine, nearly 86 per cent of H1-B visas for computer-related jobs and 46.5 per cent for engineering positions were given to Indians. The US issues 85,000 H1-B visas every year.

 

[cinergy]

Those muslin engineers are so super talented. I'm sure USA is losing a lot.

 

[Stefan_53]

Why are these companies complaining? All of them have offices overseas, they could simply hire those people over there. Google, Facebook or AMD all have offices in Europe, why do they insist on hiring all of their developers in the US?

 

[rantoc]

@DGINGERI: We all know who owns most media outlets and thus the answer to why they scream now....

 

[Olle P]

How many of the "best and brightest" come from those countries anyway? ... I doubt many people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have engineering degrees.

An unproportionally high portion of the refugees are highly educated, since those are the ones with the means to flee.

It's been implemented before, ...

What's been implemented was a temporary stop on accepting refugees. That's bad enough.
What's implemented now is a ban on every single person with ties to those seven countries, even those that are citizens of other nations and/or have a green card for staying in the US. A typical example is the resident of Portland, OR, and British citizen Sir Mohamed (CBE) (better known as Mo Farah) who now isn't allowed to return to his home in the US after visiting the family in Britain because he was born in Sudan. Even North Chorea is currently more open to foreigners than the US...

A simple solution for these tech companies is to move to another country. Canadian companies will happily accept the boost in brain capital.
I expect United Nations to move their HQ promptly since they can't operate when representatives of some member states aren't allowed to attend the meetings.
Also other international event's can no longer be held in USA.

 

[Gilles_2]

It is funny to read that they need immigrants because Americans are too dumb and so they need immigrants to do great work in IT companies.
Which one of them ever complain that education should be be in USA, so Americans would not be so dumb that they need immigrants instead?
Instead of wanting to correct an issue, they were all using alternate ways, this is all what Trump seems to be against, and so far I can only agree with that.
It is time to stop trying (and FAILING) to correct the wrong everywhere and start by do right in his country, you can't really help anyone, when you're not even able to help yourself

 

[nikolajj]

I find it interesting that President Obama did this same thing for 6 months back in 2011, and nobody in the media said a word. President Obama also signed off on the list of countries included in this ban months ago, and yet nobody criticizes him for it. President Trump just enacted what was already set up, and the media goes nuts blaming him for all of it.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/30/sorry-mr-president-the-obama-administration-did-nothing-similar-to-your-immigration-ban/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/30/fact-check-trump-refugee-policy-comparison-obama/97247418/

Read more. Try to look for fact that do not support your opinion, read it, and reevaluate your opinion accordingly.

 

[Saga Lout]

From an old Englishman's point of view, I have to ask just who is an immigrant in the States? Sitting Bull might be a good answer and possibly his wife, Lying Cow.

Neil Sedaka wrote a song forty years ago bemoaning the way immigrants were treated then in comparison to earlier arrivals and it seems to have gone downhill since then.

Today's Indians are likely to have more in common with Ghandi than Cochise and their expertise is needed by your big tech companies but they could stay at home and work from there. Better for them and their families

On the other issues, anyone under the age of fifty will need to Google for the phrase "Fifth Column". It's all about the enemy within and it's far too late to stop any threats arriving now and it was too late before September 11th, 2001. It was also too late for us by July 7th, 2005.

In my country, and yours, it's too late to pull up the drawbridge to protect the castle. All the current fuss has been caused by political popularism and your new President got elected on a lot of that so you have to learn to live with it.

Just my £0.02.

 

[gggplaya]

Yes, because we get alot of talent from Syria, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq and Somalia. Iran is probably the only place with actual talent to lure over. This whole thing has been reported with such a biased narrative that it's not even funny. It's not a "muslim ban" because we would have pakistan, afghanistan, Gaza, Oman, Indonesia etc... on that list as well. The fact is, these 7 countries were outlined by the Obama administration as "Countries of Concern" due to the lack of decent record keeping combined with the fact that their governments have either been taken over by ISIS or by radicals. The so called vetting process is basically checking to see if people pop up on watch lists because birth records can't be found. Then grilling people over and over in interviews to make sure their story doesn't have holes in it.

The 120 day hold is for the administration to figure out what to do and get proper vetting in place. Syria's passport office has been taken over by ISIS and the country itself is too heavily controlled by ISIS. That's why there's an indefinite ban.

The other thing that gets me is, if these people are applying for asylum as refugees, why are they flying back to their home country to visit families and friends. I thought they were seeking refuge from these places?

 

[shrapnel_indie]

I doubt many people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have engineering degrees.

You might think that, but you would be wrong.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/09/the-countries-with-the-most-engineering-graduates-infographic/#6fcde8fb455d

In contrast, less than 5% of China's population have a tertiary degree.

Note: Not diving in on opinion here, but will fact check to keep discussion in order and civil.

-JP

It may be better NOT to go with percentages here. China has a very-very large population, and 10% of it could easily make up another country's 50-100%.

 

[Tyrvidar]

If they had banned access from places like India (which they build their companies up pennies on the dollar) I could understand a Silicon Valley uproar. What is happening here is chump change and has no real impact on them. As mentioned above, there was no uproar when Obama had a similar vetting/ban on Iraq a few years ago.

 

[TylerTx59]

This article is complete male bovine feces (hopefully I haven't offended any males that identify with being a cow or heifer). Tom's Hardware has gone far-left and decided to practice deceitful fear mongering. I come to this site for hardware news and information not for politically motivated nonsense someone is trying to pass as journalism. This site should stick to it's core purpose or risk losing a significant portion of it's current audience.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I find it interesting that President Obama did this same thing for 6 months back in 2011, and nobody in the media said a word. President Obama also signed off on the list of countries included in this ban months ago, and yet nobody criticizes him for it. President Trump just enacted what was already set up, and the media goes nuts blaming him for all of it.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/30/sorry-mr-president-the-obama-administration-did-nothing-similar-to-your-immigration-ban/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/30/fact-check-trump-refugee-policy-comparison-obama/97247418/

Read more. Try to look for fact that do not support your opinion, read it, and reevaluate your opinion accordingly.

Yep. Also:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jan/30/donald-trump/why-comparing-trumps-and-obamas-immigration-restri/
http://www.snopes.com/president-obama-ban-muslims-2011/

Although, to be honest, whether or not 'Obama did it too/first!" doesn't really matter when debating whether this policy is good or just.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

TRUMP is just trying to enhance the safety procedures for this nation , a true Patriot.

 

[littleleo]

Why are these companies complaining? All of them have offices overseas, they could simply hire those people over there. Google, Facebook or AMD all have offices in Europe, why do they insist on hiring all of their developers in the US?

What and face a boycotts like Starbucks by Trumpites, lol. So to be clear you want Google, and others to do more hiring overseas and less in America?

 

[littleleo]

TRUMP is just trying to enhance the safety procedures for this nation , a true Patriot.

If that is the case he should build a wall around his phone so he can't send tweets.

 

[esco_sid]

There are many reasons to do what Trump did and many why not to do it but i think the main issue is with the way he implemented it you cant just say everyone is banned tomorrow from coming from those countries there should be some time for people to prepare for it.

 

[littleleo]

This article is complete male bovine feces (hopefully I haven't offended any males that identify with being a cow or heifer). Tom's Hardware has gone far-left and decided to practice deceitful fear mongering. I come to this site for hardware news and information not for politically motivated nonsense someone is trying to pass as journalism. This site should stick to it's core purpose or risk losing a significant portion of it's current audience.

You did you know a heifer is a young female cow. Usually male cows are called steers. I find it funny you think Tom's is gone hard left when all the mods seem to lean the other way in their postings.

However I do agree it is better for Tom's to stick to the Hardware aspect that it has a rep for and try and avoid getting sucked into the political swamp. I understand the story is kind of in the channel, but with so many hating the current situation I think you would be better served to avoid similar topics in the future until the hate dies down, say in 10 or 20 years.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

There are many reasons to do what Trump did and many why not to do it but i think the main issue is with the way he implemented it you cant just say everyone is banned tomorrow from coming from those countries there should be some time for people to prepare for it.

Unfortunately, such a warning also gives a heads-up to those who wish to enter the country for the purpose of harming it in some way to move their plans up... as in hurry up and enter. The whole purpose of the ban is to figure out how to prevent them from entering while letting everyone else enter, implement it, and then lift the ban.

I can see your point for those who wish to enter and are NOT up to no good, but how do you let only that group know when you can't readily identify those who are up to no good? You can't.

 

[TylerTx59]

This article is complete male bovine feces (hopefully I haven't offended any males that identify with being a cow or heifer). Tom's Hardware has gone far-left and decided to practice deceitful fear mongering. I come to this site for hardware news and information not for politically motivated nonsense someone is trying to pass as journalism. This site should stick to it's core purpose or risk losing a significant portion of it's current audience.

You did you know a heifer is a young female cow. Usually male cows are called steers. I find it funny you think Tom's is gone hard left when all the mods seem to lean the other way in their postings.

However I do agree it is better for Tom's to stick to the Hardware aspect that it has a rep for and try and avoid getting sucked into the political swamp. I understand the story is kind of in the channel, but with so many hating the current situation I think you would be better served to avoid similar topics in the future until the hate dies down, say in 10 or 20 years.

Sorry, was trying to be politically correct and not offend any bulls or steers that identified themselves as female (
cow or heifer).

I believe things are extremely polarized right now and it has become extremely tiring. I don't believe the article is relevant to technology except that some technogy company heads have become political activist also. Tom's should stick with their core focus.

 

[jwl3]

Seriously? How many IT guys come from the Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Syria? We're talking failed, gutter countries here.

Until they freely allow Americans to (merely) visit in peace and safety, why should we allow any of them to work and live here permanently?

 

[jwl3]

Seriously, all the rabble that are protesting out there would not be protesting at all if Trump banned white Europeans from coming. Why are we taking military-age gutter immigrants from extremist-filled countries when we could be taking skilled and talented workers from India, Poland, Eastern Europe, Asia, etc???

 

[littleleo]

Seriously, all the rabble that are protesting out there would not be protesting at all if Trump banned white Europeans from coming. Why are we taking military-age gutter immigrants from extremist-filled countries when we could be taking skilled and talented workers from India, Poland, Eastern Europe, Asia, etc???

Aren't you someone that says we shouldn't carry on politically discourse here you seen bent on doing so. Perhaps those are your alternate feelings on the mater, no? Perhaps you are one of the ones that wants to stir the swamp, lol.

 

[somebodyspecial]

Nope. Cite the facts you assert are missing. Do not attack the messenger. Dispute the message. Otherwise your comments will be removed. Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement is in effect here.

-JP

OK, What is missing is the 109 that got detained in the first few hours were released into america within the first 24hrs. You guys kind of left that out. You also left out that Obama did the same thing for 6 months in 2011.

The temp ban is "excluding those foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas"

Also missing, 1million people came in (500K of those are foreign nationals) in the first 72hrs. Of the million, only 721 were denied boarding from the AFFECTED countries (that would be the 7 Obama picked on too for 6 months). During the same time they processed over 1100 waivers for visa holders etc. LAWFUL perm residents and visa holders ARE allowed to board. Passport holders present it and come right in (dual's etc). This sounds like a very successful EO. There was more chaos caused by people protesting (thus blocking citizens from getting where they are trying to go) than by the inconvenience of <.1% of 1million flyers. Reality check please. Also note 872 refugees will be given waivers this week. That's 872 more than I want from these 7 locations Safe zones OK, refugees no way.

I'm fairly certain Google, MSFT etc don't have many people working for them coming from the 7 countries. Libya and Somalia are completely failed govt's overrun by terrorists right now. If you're actually flying in from these places as a tech worker, what the heck were you doing going there? I want you checked, pass a lie detector, denounce sharia law etc I really don't expect any "innovative" people to be coming from refugees of these 7 countries and we are NOT closing our border at all to immigrants. Unless I missed it, NONE of the people whining in this article (tech giants) would have had their families banned since they are NOT from these 7 countries. Right? A temp pause on 7 terrorist hot spots does not stop anyone from Britain, Germany, China, France etc etc etc.

"Silicon Valley has united against the executive order barring immigrants and effectively closing the country's border."

Umm, who closed the border and BARRED immigrants? Is this a tomshardware post that started this thread (1st post says this crap)? Did trump stop the 1million that FLEW into our country over the last 72hrs? I wasn't aware DHS/CBP denied a million flyers and stopped ALL TRAFFIC. I'm sure I would have heard if our borders suddenly COMPLETELY closed. Is tomshardware saying DHS/CBP just lied on national TV?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zRFqlCYQ6s
Feel free to watch what they actually said. Might want to add a few details to the article which currently is just leftist FUD when not including ALL sides of the info. It would seem as though all the TECH people would be just "slowed" and given waivers as CBP guy notes.

Tomshardware should not be posting political hack news that can't be verified as true. Unless they have evidence ANY workers from tech companies were deported or even detained coming in (for more than a few hours or heck a day even, whatever), we don't have a tech ban right? I might have to boycott AMD after this junk. Shame on all these companies complaining about possibly saving USA citizens from terrorist hot spots. I think AMD just lost my possible ZEN purchase (probably Vega too, especially with Nvidia being silent - AMEN). I would certainly rather be SAFE than sorry. Can you imagine the news attack if a bomb blew up in trumps first few weeks? They are already having a meltdown.

Regarding your post with where engineering degrees come from. How many of the iranians get their degree HERE (on our dime, and possibly go back to make bombs/ballistic missle tests etc)? Besides that, I'll pass on all of them, and take all the ones from the other countries in your link

Affected (held up for a few hours then waivered? LOL) and BANNED are two totally different words. Please ask all the tech companies in the article to let us all know when their employee is INDEFINITELY BLOCKED from entry. Until then, blah blah blah, I can't hear you.

 

[somebodyspecial]

For clarity, Obama slowed traffic for 6 months on iraq, just like the 109 I mentioned who were IN USA within 24hrs (trump just slowed them down too).