Traditionally the United States have been attracting a foreign workforce as a country with a developed economy, near endless opportunities, and English as the predominant working language. However, a recent article in The New York Times argues that today the situation is rather different, with the U.S. losing its edge and facing intense competition in the pursuit to keep foreign talent in the country.
Specifically, referring to the 2012 report by The Partnership for a New American Economy and The Partnership for New York City, it is stated that talented workers are lured away from the United States by other countries with more flexible immigration laws and aggressive recruitment strategies. For example, within the two last decades Singapore has increased its number of foreign-born residents from 300,000 to 1.3 million, which by today makes up 36% of Singapore’s total population. As such, Singapore considers itself a ‘talent capital’, which is achieved through relatively easy immigration policies applied to highly skilled migrants and foreign entrepreneurs. Another example suggested as a best practice for the United States relates to the focus on economic-based immigration in such countries as Canada and Australia. China is also brought up as a country that takes clear action to encourage talented expatriates to return home. Seeking to reverse the brain drain, the Chinese government is providing repatriates with a host of incentives, such as awards, free housing, tax breaks and more.
All in all, comparing the United States with other countries (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, UK, etc.), it seems as if the U.S. falls behind in such strategies as prioritizing economic needs, tailoring immigration policies to the needs of sectors and regions, simplifying immigration processes, retaining international students, granting visas to immigrant entrepreneurs, adapting to changing conditions, and recruiting expatriate talent. America’s immigration practices are perceived as irrational, undirected, and in contrast with the actual strategic needs of the country. Hence, the more flexible immigration regulations of other countries as well as more general criticism towards the American system serve as respective pull and push factors for foreign workers in the U.S. to leave the country for another destination or to return home.
These conclusions are worrying because America has always been considered a nation of immigrants, was built by immigrants, and by today more than 40% of America’s Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants. As such, immigrants play an important role in the success of the nation’s economy. However, as stated in a recent Time article, currently there is general agreement that the U.S. immigration system needs reform. It is highlighted that due to outdated immigration policies and visa rules America is facing a real ‘reverse brain drain’, or ‘immigrant exodus’, which has real consequences. For example, the article reports on the decrease in the proportion of immigrant-founded companies nationwide from 25.3% to 24.3% since 2005. Less companies mean less jobs, a clear downside in light of the global market and competition for talent. Overall, this clearly adds to the evidence of a substantial change in the migration patterns that we are currently experiencing and that I have written about in previous blog entries about Latin America and global migration outlook.