Foreign-born residents—students, skilled workers, professionals, and entrepreneurs, whether visiting temporarily or staying permanently—make important contributions to the U.S. economy, particularly in science and high-tech innovation. So what can U.S. immigration policy do to capitalize on highly skilled workers’ ideas and talents, while also maximizing the contributions of native-born citizens? What kind of foreign-born workers does the United States want to gain, and under what conditions? What policy changes should be enacted to ensure that America retains and attracts the world’s top talent?
On February 7, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings and the Center for Science and Technology Policy at George Mason University hosted a forum on immigration policies toward the highly skilled and the reforms needed to capture the benefits of a high-skill immigrant workforce. Discussants also shared new research findings on immigration’s role in spurring innovation.
After the program, panelists took audience questions.
Immigration Policy: Highly Skilled Workers and U.S. Competitiveness and Innovation
Agenda
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February 7
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Welcoming Remarks
Darrell M. West Senior Fellow - Center for Technology Innovation, Douglas Dillon Chair in Governmental StudiesDavid M. Hart Former Nonresident Senior Fellow - Metropolitan Policy Program -
Panel I – The Best and the Brightest in Academia and Beyond
Moderator: Mitch Waldrop News Features EditorRobert V. Hamilton, Ph.D Wyle Inc.Patrick Gaule Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Sloan School of ManagementB. Lindsay Lowell Director, Policy Studies, Institute for the Study of International Migration - Georgetown UniversityDarrell M. West Senior Fellow - Center for Technology Innovation, Douglas Dillon Chair in Governmental Studies -
Panel II – Highly Skilled Workers, Technology, and Entrepreneurship
Moderator: Kevin Finneran EditorJeanne Batalova Policy AnalystJennifer Hunt Professor of Economics - Rutgers UniversityRon Hira Associate Professor of Public PolicyDavid M. Hart Former Nonresident Senior Fellow - Metropolitan Policy Program
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