Trump's Employment Visa Suspension Under Fire From Business And Tech Leaders

Several business leaders are voicing their criticism against President Donald Trump’s decision to halt employment-based immigration to the United States.

What Happened

The proclamation, issued Tuesday, suspending entry of aliens into the U.S. for employment purposes affects multiple visa classes and will stay in force till the end of 2020.

The move has attracted criticism from tech leaders across the board.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc TSLA said on Twitter in response to the news, “Very much disagree with this action. In my experience, these skillsets are net job creators. Visa reform makes sense, but this is too broad.”

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc AAPL also voiced his disappointment in the tweet.

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft Corporation MSFT, tweeted, “Now is not the time to cut our nation off from the world’s talent or create uncertainty and anxiety.” 

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc GOOGL, GOOG who is also an immigrant from India, said on Twitter, “Immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success.” He added, “Disappointed by today’s proclamation - we’ll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce labeled the proclamation akin to a “not welcome” sign for engineers, executives, IT experts, doctors, nurses, and other workers. 

Why It Matters

Tech companies employ the most amount of foreign workers in the U.S. utilizing the H-1B visa.

Amazon Inc AMZN and its cloud computing concern won the most approvals for 8000 H-1B visas, the largest among tech firms. 

Other companies that use the H1-B program include Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Facebook Inc FB, all of which were issued thousands of visas.

The proclamation is likely to impact 167,000 visa holders and family members; another 158,000 persons issued green cards are also blocked from coming to the U.S. till restrictions are lifted, reported the Wall Street Journal.