Immigration Reforms new Look from sensible Republican Jeff Flake

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/capito...RtDeBiTp2LpBBJ

It isn't comprehensive reform or the Dream Act, but Rep. Jeff Flake isn't giving up on his vision for immigration reform otherise known as the "staple" act. Flake has reintroduced legislation he proposed the last two congressional sessions called the Staple Act which would give foreign-born PhD's in the stem subjects -- mathematics, science, technology, engineering -- the right to a green card . Flake argues that in order to prevent the next Intel or Google from being created overeas, every foreign-born student of these particular subjects should have a green card staples to their graduate diploma. "We've got to enact legal immigration reforms that allow foreign-born, U.S.-educated students who have earned advanced degrees to remain and work in the country after they've graduated," Flake said in a statement.

According to Scott Coley of Compete America, a group that supports employment-based immigration reform, the fact that we are losing some of our best science, tech, math and engineering students is absurd. Without the ability to legally stay here and work, Corley told me "we’re encouraging these people to go back to their home countries and compete with our economy."

President Obama did speak about the need to increase our competitiveness and the White House does seem to support the notion that the number of skilled work visas should be increased. But thatis not to say that in practice anyone is going to get behind Flake's legislation.

The Senate, if it works on the subject at all, is likely to keep trying for a comprehensive bill which may or may not include skilled work visa reform and meanwhile, there is no guarantee that Flake's legislation will get any traction in the House.

One formr Bush administration official I spoke to says that Republicans got so burned by the 2006-2007 attempt at comprehensive immigration reform that they just don't want to touch the subject if they don't have to. Plus, the current House majority may not be totally on board with increasing the number of skilled work visas or offering green cards to foreign students.

Flake is on the right track however and it will be instructive to watch who comes on board the legislation as a cosponor.

This guy is running for senate seat (replace Kyl) against Arpaio and...supposedly...JD Hayworth. Let's hope he takes the lead. AZ needs a sensible leader afterall.

I've been reading up on him. For a republican, I like him....at least better than all the others that could take it. At this point, that's all we can hope for. I seriously doubt any democrat can take this seat, unless it's Giffords. She still has a ways to go though.