Obama Rejects Bill To Give Visas to Educated Immigrants

In the aftermath of the 2012 election, in which Republicans garnered a shockingly low percentage of the Hispanic vote, Republicans have begun to rethink their position on comprehensive immigration reform. In the short term, many Republicans are looking to take measures that seem more immigrant-friendly. But even as Republicans look to reshift their framing, Democrats continue to demagogue on immigration.

One of the most positive and uncontroversial Republican efforts is the STEM Act – STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – which is designed to elevate visas available for foreign-born graduates with advanced technical degrees from US universities. The idea would be to make America a magnet for educated immigrants.

For no apparent reason, the Obama administration has opposed the act. Why? They want Republicans to continue to appear immigrant-unfriendly so long as there’s no comprehensive immigration reform. “”The administration is deeply committed to building a 21st-century immigration system that meets the nation’s economic and security needs through common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform,” the administration said.  “However, the administration does not support narrowly tailored proposals that do not meet the President’s long-term objectives with respect to comprehensive immigration reform.”