Although many high-tech jobs do not require such degrees, the decline in computer and engineering degrees can only aggravate whatever shortage exists. A lack of qualified workers is forcing U.S. companies to postpone new research projects. Cyprus Semiconductor of California counts 16 projects on hold because of a shortage of engineers. With product cycles of one year or less, every postponed project means lost sales, lost profits and fewer jobs created to support research and development. Allow U.S. companies to hire the workers they need to get the job done, whatever the workers' national origin.
Immigrants already play a vital role in America's high-technology economy.
While immigrants are less than 10 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 30 percent of research and development scientists and engineers with Ph.D.s. More than one-third of the engineers in Silicon Valley are foreign born. Andrew Grove, the founder and CEO of Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, immigrated to the United States from Hungary. James Goslin, a Canadian national, developed for Sun Microsystems the Java programming language, which is now used by 400,000 programmers worldwide. The charge is just plain silly.