Bill Weld in The Boston Globe

On Immigration: More H-1B visas; keep more foreign grads & entrepreneurs

It's time for both Democrats and Republicans to recognize the many compelling reasons for overhauling our current immigration system.

Start with the economic arguments, which are overwhelming. Our high-tech visa backlog is driving Microsoft and Facebook jobs to Dublin and Vancouver. Our rules on foreign graduates are sending young people home who would rather stay and work here. Instead of benefiting from our beacon of freedom, we are literally educating our competition, at the expense of US innovation and exports.

We have been just as shortsighted when it comes to attracting foreign entrepreneurs: Our system lacks a start-up visa for those seeking to found companies here.

Meanwhile, our annual caps on the number of all kinds of visas, from H-1B (specialty occupation) visas to permanent resident visas, are unrealistic. Many people become frustrated by the multiyear delays and give up their dream of trying to make a contribution here.

Source: Editorial in Boston Globe, by William Weld and Susan Cohen Apr 1, 2013

On Immigration: Current system is "de facto legalization" for 11 million

Our current patchwork immigration system has all the disadvantages of "de facto legalization" for illegal immigrants, but none of the advantages. Those 11 million undocumented workers manage to escape detection, so that's legalization of a sort. It sure beats being deported. But they don't get the benefit of legalizing their status, which would mean squaring their accounts with the government and being able to emerge from the shadows and strive openly to succeed here. Those 11 million people don't all need to become US citizens. They just need to start feeling that they can advance themselves without worrying that someone might notice and report them.

A principal argument against a probationary legal status (a status that has not yet ripened into a permanent right to stay) for millions of currently undocumented workers is that it creates "second-class citizens." But any type of status is better than the shadowy non-status they have now.

Source: Editorial in Boston Globe, by William Weld and Susan Cohen Apr 1, 2013

The above quotations are from Media coverage of MA political races in The Boston Globe. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of MA political races in The Boston Globe. Click here for other excerpts by Bill Weld. Click here for a profile of Bill Weld.
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Page last updated: Oct 11, 2020