The Trump Administration suspended an Obama Administration
program about to go in effect that would provide visas to entrepreneur
immigrants. According to the Wharton School of Business, the program would help create jobs in the United States and
had little downside. The program is apparently
similar to others created in Canada, France and Argentina. Notably, the Trump Administration is
supporting new legislation to radically reform the immigration system in the United
States by moving to a supposed “merit” based system designed to reduce
immigration by 50%. The Wharton School
of Business states:
Immigrants make up
about 12% of the U.S. working population, [Hsu] added. Among STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) workers, immigrants make up 24% of bachelors
and 47% of doctorates, he continued. “So [immigrant entrepreneurs] are punching
above their weight in the talent pool for the workforce that we desire in the
U.S.,” he said. He pointed to one much-cited statistic: foreign-born entrepreneurs make up
about half the founders in the so-called “billion dollar club” of startups that
are worth at least a billion dollars each.
In an Op-Ed in
Crain’s New York Business, Orin Herskowitz, the Senior Vice President of
Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer of Columbia University and
President of Columbia Technology Ventures, states that:
The rule, one of President Barack Obama’s final acts in
office, provides so-called “startup visas” long sought by Silicon Valley. It is
narrow, allowing foreign entrepreneurs to live in the United States for 30
months while building their companies. To qualify, applicants must show that
they have reputable investment in their company of no less than $250,000 and
the potential for a positive impact on economic growth and job creation. The
rule has now been delayed until next March, and the Department of Homeland
Security has given notice that the administration will propose rescinding the
program before then. . . .
There are other storm clouds on the horizon. The president’s
proposed budget reduces funding for basic science. And the legal playing field
is beginning to tilt against innovators, most dramatically through a retreat
from the respect for patent protection recognized by our Constitution more than
two centuries ago as a bulwark of our economy. The former director of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, points out that a series of court
decisions have rendered many biotech and software inventions un-patentable or
at best uncertain in the U.S., causing the abandonment of promising research,
or the repositioning of that research overseas to China, where affirmative
steps have been taken to strengthen patent protection.
[Hat tip to Technology Transfer Central for the lead to the articles.]
