Big tech companies have voiced their support for a controversial immigration law that would eliminate country-by-country caps on employment visas ahead of a crucial House vote, but the bill met with opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. are facing
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the bipartisan Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act later on Tuesday. This is one of many votes scheduled during Congress’ lame duck session.
invoice, The agency, which deals with legal immigration and is co-sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, has introduced country-by-country caps on the number of employment-based green cards available to its citizens as a way to end the huge backlog of green card applications. We will also raise the cap on family-based visas from 7% to 15%.
Most employment-based green cards are applied for by workers who are already in the US on temporary visas, but due to the large number of Chinese and Indian nationals brought to US companies on these visas, Citizens of these two countries face the biggest backlog.
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A vote on the EAGLE Act is scheduled for Tuesday.
(AP Photo/J. David Ake)
The bill was due to go on vote last week, but was postponed after opposition from both conservatives and some House Democrats.
As that vote looms, technology companies that have long supported lowering country-by-country limits have reiterated their support for the bill. worker visa.
“We are proud to support the EAGLE Act and continue to advocate for common sense immigration reform for our employees and their families,” Amazon said in a statement. I urge Congress to pass #EAGLEAct, which removes the unjustified visa cap for
In a statement, Intel said it “strongly supports” the passage of the bill, saying it “has a detrimental and decades-long backlog of highly skilled citizens in certain countries, including many valuable Intel employees.” Some blame Cap.”
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Meanwhile, Microsoft’s deputy general counsel said the tech giant has “for a long time #eagle act and its core provision to exclude EB [employment-based] Country-specific restrictions and greater fairness in the green card process”
But it’s unclear whether support from tech groups can move the needle amid opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.
Immigration hawks oppose the bill, arguing it will lead to Indians and Chinese controlling the immigration system and encouraging more applications. He stressed concerns over security threats.
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Journalist Pablo Manriquez reported that House Republican leadership is being whipped against the billIt’s unclear how much of the Democratic caucus overall supports the bill.
Last week, New York Democrat Rep. Yvette Clark wrote in a letter to members of the Congressional Black Caucus that removing the country cap without a corresponding visa increase would “relieve the hopes of others outside of these countries.” It will result in a shortage of immigration opportunities for immigrants who have I have a particular interest in people from Africa and the Caribbean. ”
“This law falls short in my estimation and cannot support efforts to perpetuate current inequalities in our immigration system. I believe we can do better,” she wrote. .
The White House released a statement in support of the bill.
“As currently written, these changes will be implemented over a nine-year transitional period to ensure that no country is excluded from receiving visas while country caps are phased out. effective,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. It said the bill would improve the immigration system and “mitigate the severe consequences of immigrant visa backlogs.”