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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Forming Group to Push Immigration Reform

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Forming Group to Push Immigration Reform

    Published March 25, 2013
    Fox News Latino

    Any day now Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook status may read: On an immigration mission.

    Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, is said to be forming an advocacy group focused on comprehensive immigration reform, according to Politico, a political news website.

    The 28-year-old would be the latest of a growing chorus of high-tech leaders pushing for a reform to the immigration system that would make it easier to recruit foreign highly-skilled workers.

    In recent months, tech industry leaders have met with President Obama and members of Congress to push for expanded visas for high-tech workers, as well as for provisions that would give more opportunities to foreign students who receive degrees in science and technology to qualify for permanent U.S. residency.

    Steve Case, a founder of AOL, testified at the first Senate hearing this year on immigration legislation.

    Tech leaders say a better immigration system is crucial to keeping the United States out front globally on digital matters.

    Zuckerberg reportedly has already poured millions into the advocacy group, which is likely to be a non-profit, and which Politico said would start with a focus on immigration reform.

    Immigrants for years have been a key part of the tech industry, accounting at times for half the startups in Silicon Valley, for example. Foreign-born entrepreneurs founded engineering and technology companies that employed about 560,000 people and generated an estimated $63 billion in sales from 2006 to 2012, said entrepreneur and Duke University researcher Vivek Wadhwa said, citing his research.

    Politico reported that working with Zuckerberg is Joe Green, a former Harvard roommate of the Facebook CEO who is co-founder of NationBuilder and Causes.

    The website said that both Green and a Facebook spokesperson declined to comment.

    Last fall, a Republican-backed House bill sought 55,000 visas for international students graduating from a U.S. university with an advanced degree in science, math or technology. But while the bill passed in the House, it died in the Senate, where Democrats insisted that the bill also expand opportunities for family members of people living legally in the United States to obtain a green card.

    There are some 80,000 of these family-based green cards allocated every year, but there are about 322,000 husbands, wives and children waiting in this category and on average people must wait more than two years to be reunited with their families.

    Mexico has the most people on the waiting list, with more than 138,000 people, or 43 percent of all people on the list, according to the U.S. State Department. The Dominican Republic is next, with nearly 31,000, followed by Cuba, with 16,000.

    Wadhwa, the Duke University researcher, said immigrants are major contributors to the U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

    That contribution, however, is in jeopardy as the growth rate of immigrant-founded companies has stagnated because of visa policies, bureaucracy and immigration laws.

    "We're choking off the pipeline here," Wadhwa said. "We are boosting the economies of our competitors, in other words, the people that we'd want here starting companies and building innovation here are doing it in ... India, China, Brazil and Mexico," where researchers are seeing the most innovation because of U.S.-educated returnees.

    Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Forming Group to Push Immigration Reform | Fox News Latino
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    Senior Member dregerk's Avatar
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    Just another person wanting more cheap labor!
    Any and all comments & Opinions and postings by me are considered of my own opinion, and not of any ORG that I belong to! PERIOD!

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    Administrator ALIPAC's Avatar
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    It is such a betrayal to all Facebook users that the company is now staking out sides on any contentious political issue.

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    Senior Member JohnDoe2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ALIPAC View Post
    It is such a betrayal to all Facebook users that the company is now staking out sides on any contentious political issue.

    W
    YES, But it's all about money.
    If he can hire cheap foreign programmers he, and all of the Facebook stock owners, will make more MONEY.
    NO AMNESTY

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    Mark Zuckerberg hires two DC lobbyists to help his advocacy group fight for immigrati

    Mark Zuckerberg hires two DC lobbyists to help his advocacy group fight for immigration reform

    March 29, 2013
    Ken Yeung
    thenextweb.com



    Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has hired two lobbying firms in Washington, DC to help lead his new issue advocacy group, called TechNet, to help its fight for immigration reform. According to Politico, lobbyists Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart along with Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock have joined the group’s list of consultants.

    With the hiring of these lobbyists, Zuckerberg gains two firms who have experience petitioning Congress to advance their clients’ issues. As Politico notes, both are K Street veterans (the part of Washington, DC home to dozens of well-known lobbying firms) and have lobbied on immigration reform issues in the past. Interestingly, John Michael Gonzalez of Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart previously represented Facebook in 2012 in an issue before the Senate.

    The group was started by Zuckerberg along with other Silicon Valley executives such as Andreessen Horowitz’s entrepreneur-in-residence Joe Green, Zuckerberg’s former Harvard roommate and someone who was involved with NationBuilder.com and Causes.com. Joining these two are Joe Lockhart (a former Facebook VP of global communications) of the Glover Park Group, Jon Lerner, a Republican strategist, and Rob Jesmer, a Republican strategist and former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

    Immigration reform has certainly been an issue that has the technology industry assembled. Prominent tech leaders and even New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have stepped up to call for smart changes in US policy — they have formed a group called “March for Innovation” who’s aim is to help Congress compose a law that makes sense that will benefit the technology industry.

    Facebook itself announced recently that it would be opening up new temporary developer offices in Vancouver until it can figure out how to transfer engineers to one of several offices inside the United States. Because of its proximity to Seattle, one of the social networking company’s offices, Vancouver will be home to highly-skilled workers who will help make Facebook better, but from afar because they can’t get in due to US immigration policy.

    And it’s not just Facebook, but also other giant tech companies like Google and Microsoft. Both of these companies have voiced their support in favor of the Immigration Innovation Act that was introduced into Congress this past January. And if you recall, President Obama has also noted that there needs to be a change in the rules to better accommodate those people with upper-tier education and high-tech skills that can help advance progress in the US.

    In his letter earlier this month, Zuckerberg sent a letter signed by not only himself, but representatives from The Internet Association, TechAmerica, National Venture Capital Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, and others, to Obama and leaders of both houses of Congress. In it, he said:

    …because our current immigration system is outdated and inefficient, many high-skilled immigrants who want to stay in America are forced to leave because they are unable to obtain permanent visas. Some do not bother to come in the first place. This is often due to visa shortages, long waits for green cards, and lack of mobility. We believe that numerical levels and categories for high-skilled nonimmigrant and immigrant visas should be responsive to market needs and, where appropriate, include mechanisms to fluctuate based on objective standards.

    This isn’t the first time Zuckerberg has got involved in social issues. In 2010, he donated $100 million to New Jersey schools to help improve the education system. He followed it up two years later donated 18 million Facebook shares worth about $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

    Zuckerberg Hires Two DC Lobbyists In Fight For Immigration Reform
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