Trump signed an executive order that sent a series of tech firms to cry.

On June 22, US President Donald Trump signed an order to temporarily suspend the issuance of working visas, especially including the H-1B visa program for highly skilled workers. The action immediately cut off an important source of foreign labor for US technology companies, which have long complained about a shortage of talent.

According to an estimate of a senior government official told the Wall Street Journal, the restrictions will ban about 525,000 people from entering the country, including 170,000 green card holders who have been prevented from entering the United States since April. .

However, this decree does not apply to workers who already have a valid visa, and it was designed to help support jobs for unemployed Americans in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Trump administration. to speak. Mr. Trump said the unemployment rate has quadrupled between February and March this year.

“American workers compete with foreign nationals for jobs in all areas of our economy,” Trump said. “Without intervention, the United States will face the possibility of sustained economic recovery, with continuous high unemployment if the labor supply exceeds the labor demand.”

Mr. Trump is looking for ways to reduce unemployment in the US.

But tech industry representatives were clearly uncomfortable with the decree. They have warned that the decision will hinder companies’ ability to recruit skilled foreign citizens. Because about three-quarters of the 85,000 H-1B visas allocated each year are for people working in technology.

Many technology giants have voiced their disagreement with the views of the Trump administration.

“Now is not the time to separate our nation from the world’s talents or create uncertainty and anxiety,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s chief adviser, said on Twitter. . “Immigrants play an important role at our company and support the critical infrastructure of our country. They are contributing to this country at a time when we need them most.”

Amazon bluntly called this decree “shortsighted”.

“Preventing highly skilled professionals from entering the country and contributing to the US economic recovery puts America’s global competitiveness at risk,” an Amazon spokesman said. “The value of highly skilled visa programs is clear and we are grateful to many Amazon employees from all over the world who have come to the US to innovate products and services for their customers.”

Google also expressed the same opinion.

“Immigrants not only promote technological breakthroughs and create new businesses and jobs but also enrich the lives of Americans,” Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said in a statement. . “America’s continued success depends on companies that have the right to attract the best talent from around the world. Especially now, we need those talents to contribute to economic recovery. of America. “

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai, is an Indian immigrant. He also shared: “Disappointed by today’s announcement. We will continue to stand side by side with immigrants and work to expand opportunities for everyone.”

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, whose father is an immigrant, came from Poland in 1949. She wrote on Twitter: “Immigration is the center of American stories and it is the center of the story. of my own family. My family was out of danger and found a new home in America. “

H-1B is the basis of an important foreign labor supply for technology companies.

A Facebook spokesperson said Trump’s statement is trying to capitalize on the epidemic to limit immigration, but this will make the country’s economic recovery process more difficult.

The Twitter representative said that this action would undermine diversity, which is considered “America’s largest economic asset”.

“People from all over the world come here to join our workforce, pay taxes and contribute to America’s global competitiveness in the international arena,” said Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, vice president President of Twitter’s public policy, said in a statement.

Uber also criticized the ordinance, saying that immigration helps drive innovation.

An industry group representing tech giants such as Apple, Google and Facebook said the move would hinder technology companies’ ability to make decisions about the workforce.

“This is an unbelievably bad policy at all levels,” said Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud service company Box.

The American Civil Liberties Union accuses the Trump administration of using the pandemic as an excuse to rewrite immigration laws.

“This is not a response to Covid-19 or an economic response,” the union representative said. “It is about exploiting a pandemic to devise policies that divide and reshape immigration law, while replacing Congress.”

Refer to Cnet