20 Year Anniversary Of H-1B: Two Lost Generations

By Rob Sanchez

01/01/2010

Perhaps the most surprising thing about H-1B is that for two decades the people most affected by the program haven’t managed to help themselves by abolishing the H-1B program. After two decades there is still not a single organization big and powerful enough to effectively deal with the issue, and even worse, American workers seem incapable of coming to a consensus what the issue is, or what to do about it.

Vdare for instance recently asked for donations for their website because they are one of the few forums for quality articles about H-1B. I’m not sure they received donations as a result of the H-1B issue but hopefully they received enough for other important immigration issues. Victims of H-1B are usually either unwilling or unable to put their money on the line to fight H-1B. That another thing that hasn’t changed for 20 years.

After two decades Americans who complain about H-1B continue to vote for politicians who support H-1B — they even vote for many of the same politicians that were the original sponsors of H-1B — twenty years of job destruction by incumbent politicians.

There seems to be two different types of Americans — those that have jobs and those that don’t. The ones that do won’t help the ones that don’t. In two decades white collar professionals have seen their fellow workers marched out company doors one-by-one, but as long as the remaining employees have a job they think to themselves: "as long as it’s not me on the breadline I don’t care".

About a month ago I received an email from a person who actively opposed the H-1B program from the early days of the program — way before I came on the scene. It is a spontaneous commentary that I thought worth sharing with you as we enter a new decade. She gave me permission to edit it but I tried to minimize changes to preserve its spontaneity. She asks to remain anonymous.

She fought the program with all she had. In the early days of the struggle she and a handful of politically inclined scientists and engineers thought that they would quickly eradicate our nation of H-1B. It didn’t happen though. In two decades nothing changed except the number of H-1Bs working in the United States.

Most of the early activists like her got burned out because the very workers she struggled to help shunned politics to enjoy the fruits of lucrative jobs and narcissistic lifestyles. Fighting for American jobs became too lonely, frustrating, and depressing.

A fundamental question she asks: what will become of the next generation of Americans as this travesty continues?

In two decades the corporatocrats have decimated high tech industries and other decent paying professionals

I haven’t expected any help from any union nor professional society for almost two decades, which is plenty enough time for unions or professional societies to prove which side of the road they are riding on. The only professional group that has done anything has been Programmers Guild. Twenty years of no help from any union or professional society has resulted in *two* lost generations of America’s best and brightest who once had lofty dreams of building a better America.

Now, America is a broken nation with crumbling infrastructures and off-shored manufacturing industries. It makes one want to sit down and cry for what could have been had there only been an interest in doing what was best for America by standing up for American professionals. It was not for the lack of effort of individual American professionals like Dr. Gene Nelson, Rob Sanchez, and Kim Berry but it was, and is, awfully lonely out there without any union or society voices along side them.

Years ago I threw in the towel on the H-1B issue because I saw it as a lost cause because it was just too lonely out there without the backing of professional groups to stand beside America’s professionals.

Simply put — too many hogs at the H-1B slop trough of greed. Thanks to Rob, Gene, Kim and others who have been willing to continue to stand up for American professionals.

What could have America been in the 21st Century? Instead of offshoring, destruction of U.S. manufacturing, and destruction of US research and development we could have had groups of activists willing to stand up for America’s foundation for growth and development through its vast pool of scientists, engineers, and programmers.

Instead, the future of America has been shattered. Generations of professionals have been lost and dreams destroyed. I lay blame for this destruction at the feet of those who have supported the H-1B and L-1 Visa; and those who backed NAFTA and CAFTA.

Perhaps some day these people will wake up one morning and look themselves in the mirror and realize the awful truth of what they have done to their fellow Americans and how they have contributed to massive U.S. unemployment and the shattering of America’s industries and research.

Perhaps they will realize how their lack of support has destroyed the lives of thousands of American professionals and their families, and brought America to the brink of the economic crisis that we now stand at. A crisis brought on because America no longer produces anything and no longer develops anything of value — all the while tens of thousands of brilliant and well educated Americans could have been building up America.

And, at that moment of realization, they will weep for what they could have done to help America but did not.

Life is about choices. Some people have chosen to do that which is decent and right. To these folks: Dr. Gene Nelson, Rob Sanchez, Kim Berry and others — may God bless each and every one of you. Maybe through your efforts some future generation will be able to have their dreams of careers in science and engineering fulfilled. You have stood tall to do that which is morally right. You are the kind of people that made America a great nation and maybe you will be the thread that can bring it back.

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