ImmigrationSilicon Valley plans an immigration “virtual march” on Washington
A bi-costal push for federal immigration reform geared toward highly skilled foreign workers has Silicon Valley business leaders planning a “virtual march on Washington.”
A bi-costal push for federal immigration reform geared toward highly skilled foreign workers has Silicon Valley business leaders planning a “virtual march on Washington.”
Silicon Valley Business Journalreports that this April, business leaders led by Michael Bloomberg’s foundation, the Partnership for a New American Economy, will start an online education offensive encouraging people to contact legislators about the need for immigration reform.
Social media will be a significant factor as Facebook and Twitter will help facilitate the event, according to John Feinblatt, Bloomberg’s chief policy adviser and head of the Partnership for a New American Economy.
The Silicon Valley Bank, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, angel investor Ron Conway, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mike Maples have all signed on to help with the event.
“Tech leaders ought to be using technology to try to influence the debate,” Feinblatt told the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Venture capitalist Shomesh Dash became a member of the Partnership through a friend. “My intro to (the Partnership) was through a classmate at Stanford,” Dash told the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
Dash’s friend, Stanford alum Amit Aharoni, a native of Israel who launched a startup after graduation, was denied a U.S. visa to stay and develop the company. Aharoni based his company in Canada before he was given a green card after the partnership publicized his case as an example of the failures in the current system.
For Dash, the virtual march is a way to give immigration reform another soapbox to stand on.
“We wanted to create a platform,” Dash said, explaining that the initial goal is driving people to the Web site for the initiative, then also developing pages and hashtags for Facebook and Twitter to attract more participants. “We want Silicon Valley to get collectively involved.”
Dash and Feinblatt said the goal of the march is not to dictate the shape reform actually takes, since both comprehensive reform and stand-alone bills for tech talent are on the table in Washington.
Still, Feinblatt stated, “I think most people think these things should be part of comprehensive legislation.”
