Big Tech is salivating at the prospect of a Biden presidency, which is precisely why they’re using all the disinformation powers of their platforms to force him into the White House.
One reason Silicon Valley lobbyists in Washington are so eager to work with a Biden administration is because they are hopeful the Democrat would repeal many of President Trump’s immigration policies, particularly those that have reduced the entry of low-paid white-collar foreign workers who take jobs from college-educated Americans citizens.
Some of the biggest names in the Tech industry have been at odds with the Trump administration over the issue, battling in court over his visa-restrictive executive orders.
Just last month, the White House announced new immigration rules that opponents say unfairly makes it harder for skilled workers to acquire visas (specifically H1-B visas). Proponents of the rule change, however, say that’s the point: Companies should be prioritizing the hiring of American citizens. When so many young people are having a hard time getting work after college and repaying student loans, why make it harder by outsourcing skilled tech jobs to foreign workers?
TechNet, a group of industry executives from companies such as Amazon, Apple, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, and Google, filed amicus briefs in support of lawsuits challenging the new rules.
But even if they lose, the coalition of companies hopes they can rescind the rules if Joe Biden moves into the Oval Office.
“They’ve indicated they are going to be very different than the Trump administration on high-skilled immigration, immigration in general,” said TechNet CEO Linda Moore. “High-skilled immigration … has led to so much growth and technological superiority and competitiveness for the U.S.”
TechNet has been actively taking on President Trump’s immigration policies in court. Besides the most recent lawsuit, it joined other business groups in July to sue over an executive order suspending the issuance of certain temporary worker visas through the end of 2020.
The court ultimately sided with the business groups, exempting them from the order.
“TechNet sued the Trump Administration to stop these worker visa restrictions and we won. Any rules that impose stricter standards around H-1B visas will have zero impact on increasing American jobs and will harm our country’s ability to recover from the pandemic just as cases are beginning to rise again,” Moore said. “They should allow the incoming administration to set the tone on immigration policy as our country moves forward under President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris.”
