Minnesota Governor to Subsidize H-1Bs

Date: Monday, February 20, 2006 3:51 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

February 20, 2006 No. 1423

I have published several recent newsletters about Minnesota Governor Tim
Pawlenty's vow to go to Washington DC in order to expand the number of H-1B
visas that are made available every year. Pawlenty said that he will begin
his lobbying campaign in March.

Now Pawlenty is taking his campaign for H-1Bs to a new level of absurdity.
He is not satisfied merely with handing out more H-1B visas - he wants to
give government grants and subsidies to help H-1Bs with their finances,
education, health care, and to give money directly to employers so that
they can train H-1Bs to speak English (how do they get college degrees if
they can't speak English?). The red carpet doesn't stop there because
Pawlenty also wants to give them tax breaks to set up their own companies
in the U.S.

The following list is some of the direct government subsidies that Pawlenty
proposes to give to H-1Bs and foreign students:

* Tax credit for immigrants seeking citizenship

* Public/private partnership to help immigrants access financial and
economic tools

* Expansion of the number of H-1B visas and employment-based green cards
granted to those studying and working in strategic areas

* Creation of an Immigrant Investor Visa Regional Center to attract foreign
business investment to Minnesota

* Grants for employers providing work-readiness English language
instruction to employees

* Utilizing visa opportunities for foreign medical professionals in
underserved areas of Minnesota
Addressing health care challenges within the immigrant community.

Perhaps the most puzzling assertion that Pawlenty makes is that he can make
a dent in the illegal immigration problem by handing out more H-1B visas:

Pawlenty has been working on several proposals to increase
the amount of legal immigrants and decrease the number of
illegal immigrants in Minnesota.

It appears that Pawlenty is listening to too many ivory-tower college
professors. The article below quotes a history professor named Erika Lee
that makes a ridiculous assertion:

The challenge of receiving a visa for many international
students has led some to illegal immigration, said
history professor Erika Lee,

If Pawlenty thinks that he can make a dent in Minnesota's illegal alien
problem by issuing a few more H-1B visas he is just plain wrong. Even his
communication director, Brian McClung, in an editorial last year, said that
there were 80,000 illegals in Minnesota in 2004. I'm sure that figure is a
low count, but even so, to assert that international students contribute
significantly to this problem is absurd. Even every international student
in Minnesota was given an H-1B visa the state would not see a noticeable
effect on illegal immigration. What is this governor thinking?

Don't be fooled by McClung either. His editorial would have you believe he
is tough on immigration but he is very adamant that success for Pawlenty
means increasing the number of H-1B visas.

But if Pawlenty is successful in lobbying his proposals
later this month when he visits Washington, D.C., he might
influence legislators to expand the number of H1-B visas
that are made available each fiscal year, said Pawlentys
Director of Communications Brian McClung.

Lou Dobbs recently complimented Pawlenty on his bold new plans to control
immigration. It's actually surprising and kind of scary that Dobbs could be
conned by Pawlenty so easily.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2006/02/16/67166

February 16, 2006

IMMIGRATION

Proposal would keep door open for international students
Gov. Tim Pawlenty is trying to make it easier for international students in
science and technology to stay and work in the state after graduation.

By Elizabeth Giorgi
After attending the University, international students dont always get
to stay in the country because of expired student visas.

But with Gov. Tim Pawlentys immigration proposals, some would be able to
work in Minnesota and pursue careers in their fields after college.

Pawlenty has been working on several proposals to increase the amount of
legal immigrants and decrease the number of illegal immigrants in
Minnesota.

With one of his most recent proposals, Pawlenty hopes to lobby the federal
government for more H-1B visas to help those studying and working in
science and technology fields to stay and pursue careers in Minnesota.

Currently, international students must return to their home country after
graduation and cannot stay in the area to seek a job, said Craig Peterson,
attorney and former University International Student and Scholar Services
employee.

Minnesota is losing many talented individuals in the science and technology
fields because of this, he said.

But if Pawlenty is successful in lobbying his proposals later this month
when he visits Washington, D.C., he might influence legislators to expand
the number of H1-B visas that are made available each fiscal year, said
Pawlentys Director of Communications Brian McClung.

Peterson said that if Pawlenty works as a lone voice he will not be
successful, but if he gathers the support of other governors, business
leaders and community leaders, and they all stand together on the issue,
Congress will listen.

Pawlenty specifically hopes to make it possible for immigrants who have
studied and worked in science and technology fields to stay in the country,
because Minnesota has a demand for educated individuals in those fields,
Peterson said.

Peterson said it is common for students to return to their home country
after graduation and try to obtain an H-1B visa. However, there are only
about 65,000 available each year, and they are gone very quickly.

"(The U.S.) has too small a number of visas - on the first day of the
federal fiscal year they are all allocated and gone because the demand is
quite large," said Humphrey Institute professor Katherine Fennelly.

Many times businesses already will have allocated for a large number of the
H-1B visas, and individuals will lose out, she said.

Fennelly said one of the main problems surrounding this issue is that many
graduates will decide to leave the United States and pursue careers in
Canada or the United Kingdom, because the visa restrictions are less
rigorous in those countries.

"There are many very bright, skilled workers who would benefit the U.S.,
and some of them are our students," she said.

Minnesota might lose those workers if there isnt a solution to the visa
problem, Fennelly said.

Mechanical engineering senior Kane Ishibashi is attending the University on
a student visa and will have to return to Japan after graduating.

Ishibashi said he would like to remain in the United States to seek a
career in engineering, but it is not a possibility for him.

"I would stay, but it is about getting that visa and that is all," he said.

Josh Baller, math and genetics sophomore and vice president of the
Minnesota International Student Association, said that sometimes
immigrants visas expire and they remain in Minnesota illegally.

Baller said he is hopeful that expansion of visa access will "curb illegal
immigration."

The challenge of receiving a visa for many international students has led
some to illegal immigration, said history professor Erika Lee, but it also
has caused an increase in the amount of competition from other universities
abroad.

"The United States is no longer the main place that international students
are coming to," she said.

There has been a reinvestment by universities in Europe and China to
provide more resources to its students to increase competition and keep
many students at home, Lee said.

Pawlentys proposal is moving in the right direction to increase the
amount of legal immigrants, however, it is going to be difficult to make up
for lost time, she said.

"It might be too little too late," she said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.startribune.com/562/story/149463.html

Last update: December 30, 2005 - 4:37 PM

Brian McClung: Article attacked messenger
Instead, Minnesotans ought to be discussing the impact of illegal
immigrants on our schools, our health care and our criminal justice system.
Brian McClung, Newhouse News Service

The Star Tribune and other supporters of illegal immigration resorted to a
classic attack last week: If you don't like the message, attack the
messenger. And what a weak attack it was.
Reporters David Peterson and Dan Browning raised questions about the
validity of a Pawlenty administration study on the number and cost of
illegal immigrants in our state ("Validity of immigrant report is
questioned / State demographer is worried about a Pawlenty-released report
on undocumented workers," Dec. 22). As it turns out, the people questioning
the report were the Star Tribune reporters and editors. Rather than
reporting news, they appear to have sought out viewpoints that met their
worldview and wove a story around it.

The truth is that the number of illegal immigrants cited in the report was
in the article: The well-regarded, nonpartisan national immigration expert
said once again that his "best estimate" is 85,000. Of course, that fact
was buried deep in the story.

While people may quibble about the exact number of illegal immigrants in
Minnesota, numbers that deserve attention reflect the recent explosive
growth of illegals in our state. That number increased from 13,000 in 1990
to at least 80,000 in 2004, a 515 percent jump. This includes a 33.3
percent increase since 2000. These numbers come from the federal
government.

Instead of attacking the messenger, we should commit to having a broad
conversation about the impact illegal immigration is having on our schools,
health care and criminal justice systems. Gov. Tim Pawlenty will continue
to lead in this area, working to reform and improve a chaotic system into
one that is orderly, fair and legal.

Perhaps the Star Tribune's next article will delve into the validity of
another immigration report, cited by columnist Nick Coleman and others,
that claims illegal immigrants contribute $300 million to the Minnesota
economy each year. The state's leading economists criticized that report
for overstating the impact of illegal immigrants in Minnesota, but I won't
hold my breath waiting for that news to appear on page A1.

Brian McClung is director of communications for Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

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