Tech companies welcome immigration bill

US flagBig tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Cisco and Yahoo have applauded the decision by the Senate to pass the comprehensive immigration reform bill, arguing that the move gives a major boost to economic growth and helps to attract new workers to the United States.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cisco, John Chambers, who is also the co-chair of TechNet, feels that the decision to pass the legislation on a bipartisan level will help to curb the delay in implementing the high-skilled worker immigration reforms.  It is expected that the reforms will serve to encourage an inflow of talent from all over the world, bringing with them an infusion of fresh ideas.  Cisco intends to work together with lawmakers to make sure that the US is able to attract the cream of the crop.

“If enacted, these changes will strengthen our economic security, foster innovation and enable continued job growth in the US,” says the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer.  “Equally important, the legislation makes critical investments in our workforce by strengthening STEM education in the United States, including instruction focused on computer science.”  Ballmer added that Microsoft applauds the leadership and bipartisan collaboration demonstrated by the Senate on this issue.

John Doerr, the co-chair of TechNet and Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers’ General Manager, calls the passing of the legislation a victory for the United States, noting that the country’s economic success has long been based on the ability to attract the greatest talent, regardless of whether they are immigrants or born in the US.