Generations ago our ancestors came to the United States from their native countries in search of a better opportunity. The melting pot that was American society assimilated all these different backgrounds and produced what we recognize as a country today. The openness of America allowed for a mixture not only of nationalities but innovative ideas as well. This very important element that has allowed the United States to prosper globally is coming under increased pressure recently as the economy continues to dip and jobs are lost. Many Americans and political leaders are attempting to circle the wagons during this difficult time to protect American jobs and it is coming at the expense of skilled foreign workers seeking employment in the United States.
Part of President Obama’s new fiscal-stimulas package includes an amendment called the Grassley-Sanders amendment which prevents U.S. businesses that receive federal bail-out money from hiring H-1B workers for one year. H-1B refers to a visa that U.S. employers can use to hire specialty skilled foreign immigrants for a temporary period of time. Specialty jobs include those in the field of architecture, engineering, biotechnology, medicine, and law. The amendment is an attempt to force American businesses to “Buy American” and keep immigrant workers out of the job market in favor of American workers. Critics fear that these restrictions could hinder America’s ability to create innovative ideas perhaps at a time when they are needed most.
The problem the Grassley-Sanders amendment overlooks at this point is the makeup of the universities and research laboratories. According to the 2000 census a disproportionate number of immigrants comprise America’s number of scientists and engineers with PhDS to the tune of 47%. These clever individuals have been crucial in leading innovation, after all good ideas tend to flow from clever minds. Time will tell if American students can fill the void that will be left because of the Grassley-Sanders amendment.
But how can one qualitatively measure the impact immigrants have when it comes to innovation. The answer may be patents. Recently The Economist reported on William Kerr who is an economist at Harvard Business School. Kerr conducted a study to find out. He used name-matching software to identify the last names of 8 million scientists who had been granted a patent since 1975. His research found that the number of patents distributed to Americans had gone down in the same time period. It had gone up significantly for people of Chinese and Indian descent.
Kerr took his results and teamed up with a University of Michigan economist, William Lincoln, to figure out if these H-1B immigrants were in fact displacing native scientists who could have done a similar job, a popular argument for those who oppose H-1B visas. The two compared the years the government allowed more H-1B visas to patents awarded and they found that when more H-1B visas were given, the number of overall patents went up as well. Even patents by American scientists went up slightly, potentially disproving the notion that immigrants take opportunities away from native American scientists.
It seems in the world of innovation and progress that having a melting pot of scientists and thinkers can be a good thing. Different ideas coming together can ignite great ideas and that is what drives America forward. The goal of the United States should be to collect the best and the brightest no matter where they come from. Limiting the amount of fresh, new, and different ideas can rarely be a good thing and can lead to unwanted outcomes such as group think or a stagnation of innovation. America was once a nation that welcomed people who desired to achieve with little regard from where they came from. America and its leaders should remember where it came from in order to get where it wants to go.
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