One of the myths dogging the immigration debate is that employers are fibbing (or grossly exaggerating) when they claim that hiring foreign professionals is unavoidable because U.S.-born Ph.D.s are hard to come by. But a new report on doctorates from U.S. universities shows they’re telling the truth, and then some, says the Wall Street Journal.
According to the National Opinion Research Centre at the University of Chicago:
Nevertheless, immigration opponents and economic protectionists still claim that the likes of Intel and Oracle merely want to hire Chinese engineers on the cheap, says the Journal. But in reality:
Closing the door to foreign professionals puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage and pushes jobs out of the country, says the Journal. It makes little sense for American universities to educate these talented foreign students, only to send them packing after graduation. Current policies have universities such as MIT and Stanford educating the next generation of innovators – and then deporting them to create wealth elsewhere.
Source: Editorial, American Brain Drain, Wall Street Journal, November 30, 2007.
For text: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119638963734709017.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks
For more on Immigration Issues: http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_Category=34
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 04 December 2007
