The US risks losing its status as the top destination for foreign workers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, thanks to outdated and rigid immigration policies. Other nations, including the European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom, are becoming more favorable destinations with streamlined and agile immigration processes, according to a new report released recently.
“The global competition for talent is fiercer than ever,” stated the report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, sponsored by the US Department of Defense and funded by Congress. STEM workers are increasingly choosing rival nations “partly due to more aggressive talent recruitment efforts.”
The report criticized Congress for failing to reform and update immigration policies, which poses risks to national security and economic competitiveness. The authors are calling for an increase in green cards for individuals working in critical areas of science, engineering, and technology.
“The need for STEM talent is especially pronounced in defense-related industries,” said Mark Barteau, a chemical engineering professor at Texas A&M University and chair of the committee that prepared the report. About half of the STEM workers with advanced degrees in the defense industrial base are foreign, he said.
Barteau stated that it will take at least a generation for the US to “develop enough domestic STEM talent to fully support the country’s research and innovation needs.”
Changes in immigration policy are necessary
The report recommended changes to US immigration policy, including the creation of a category for permanent residents free from country cap restrictions or numerical limitations. Currently, the country cap limits immigration from any country to 7% annually, which can lead to long waits, especially for workers from India and China, where many STEM workers originate.
The report also noted that other nations, including “concern countries” — namely, China, Russia, and Iran — have done more to attract STEM talent. It observed that the attractiveness of the US for students from other countries has diminished.
The US Congress has been paralyzed for years on immigration policy. Immigration of skilled workers is embedded in the broader debate over border crossings by immigrants and undocumented workers.
Source: TechTarget