Immigration advocates say CHIPS bill is ‘incomplete’

Provision removed that would ease restrictions

WASHINGTON – As President Joe Biden prepares to sign a bipartisan bill that would boost domestic manufacturing of computer chips, some advocates said the bill is incomplete without immigration provisions.

Congress passed the bill, known as the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Act, last week. Supporters said it would help prevent supply chain shortages. Biden is likely to sign the legislation.

The latest

What’s in CHIPS? Roughly $52 billion in incentives for the semiconductor industry.

The shortage issue: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shortage of semiconductor microchips, which power thousands of products such as cars, cellphones, appliances, gaming consoles and medical devices.

STEM worker shortage: Some top chip manufacturing companies raised concerns over a shortage of high-skill STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers, calling on Congress to make it easier for those workers to stay in the USA, according to Politico.

More federal-state partnerships: Biden virtually joined an event with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who signed legislation to boost semiconductor production in the state. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it’s “the first example of the federal-state partnership that will launch across the country” as a result of the CHIPS Act.

What about immigration?

The House of Representatives included a provision in its version of the CHIPS legislation that would ease restrictions for immigrants with advanced science and technology degrees.

According to FWD.us, a pro-immigration lobbying group, up to $233 billion in wages could be added to the American economy this decade if there was a process for international students projected to graduate from U.S. colleges and universities to stay and work permanently in the USA.

The Senate scaled back the bill, cutting that provision.

What can be done?

Some are concerned there are not enough highly skilled workers in the USA as it expands microchip manufacturing.

Esther Brimmer, executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, a nonprofit association focusing on international education and exchange, said the White House should bring together the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to increase the number of international students at U.S. colleges and universities.

Jeremy Robbins, executive director of the American Immigration Council, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights, said Congress could pass a standalone bill aimed at getting immigrants with STEM degrees to stay in the USA.

What they are saying

“The bill has supercharged our efforts to make semiconductors here in America,” Biden said during the virtual event in Michigan. “These tiny little computer chips the size of a fingertip are building on the building blocks of our modern economy, they power everything.”

“It’s important that we have a complete policy approach. The CHIPS legislation is incomplete. It does not address the fundamental issue of human talent, the human capital that is required for advanced work in hightech areas,” Brimmer said.

Robbins highlighted that highly skilled workers aren’t needed just for industries in Silicon Valley: “We need innovation everywhere.”