Immigrants make invaluable contributions to our nation’s economy, academic institutions, and military, and they pay more than $450 billion in taxes annually. Earlier this year, the administration imposed a ban on high-skilled worker visas that are vital to the essential work being done by the tech industry. This work could not be accomplished without these visas due to a shortage of home-grown STEM graduates. TechNet was the only tech association to join as a plaintiff with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others to sue the administration and win injunctive relief for its 76 members so their visas could be processed unhindered. TechNet subsequently joined two amicus briefs supporting lawsuits that oppose Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security H-1B visa rules issued in October.See below for more information about how immigration is benefitting tech and our nation.

Immigration Benefits Tech and Our Nation

High-Skilled Immigration: Five Things to Know (FWD.us)

High-skilled immigration is good for America — it creates jobs, raises wages, and keeps America globally competitive — particularly as the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the coronavirus crisis.

Top American Tech Companies Were Founded by Immigrants or the Children of Immigrants (Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook)

Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook — accounting for a combined market valuation of roughly $3 trillion — were all founded by first or second generation immigrants.

New American Fortune 500 in 2019: Top American Companies and Their Immigrant Roots (Apple, Intuit)

Almost 45 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.

A Supreme Court Ruling Upholds the Rights of the Nation’s Dreamers (Microsoft)

The past few months have provided even more dramatic evidence of the role that DACA registrants play in our country. More than 30,000 of them work in the healthcare space alone.

Immigration Contributes to America’s Economic Success (Google)

Immigrants Have Been and Continue to be Essential to the Growth and Success of Our Economy (PayPal)

When Immigration is Restricted, Jobs Are Created Elsewhere  (Box)

What’s New in Tech

Creating Self-Cleaning Surfaces With Smart Materials (Accenture)

Accenture is partnering with Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) to develop tech that will let us embed light-emitting diodes — LEDs — directly into fibers. With this approach, an LED-embedded fabric could supply the light that’s needed to kick off its own self-cleaning. For hard, non-fabric surfaces like railings, we’re considering other approaches; metal railings, for example, could have micro-perforations that let light from LEDs inside the railing disperse across the surface; or railings could be made of transparent materials that let light refract through the whole railing. Read more here.

What We’re Saying

· TechNet Statement on Historic Win by President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris. Read the press release here.

· Biden Beats Trump: Here’s What it Means for Tech. (CNet) Read the news feature here.

· Biden’s Victory was Just What Tech Wanted: Now What? (Protocol) Read the news feature here.

Before You Start Your Weekend

The father of Amazon’s founder tells his story of fleeing Castro’s Cuba and finding family in his new country. (Amazon)