AILA Opposes Anti-Chinese Provision Added to s386

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AILA Opposes Anti-Chinese Provision Added to the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act
On December 2, 2020, the Senate passed The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act (S. 386/H.R. 1044) which included xenophobic and exclusionary language targeting individuals of Chinese origin. It appears that Congress wants to try to pass this legislation as soon as possible by attaching it to must-pass government funding bills before the end of the year.

A summary of the latest version of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act is available here and the provisions are also described below. However, as currently drafted, Section 9 would ban many Chinese nationals from becoming U.S. lawful permanent residents and citizens, falsely equating their place of birth with the ideology of China’s leadership. This provision undermines the spirit and purpose of a bill that was originally intended to ensure that people are granted visas based on their skills and not their country of origin. As such, AILA opposes Section 9 of S. 386/H.R. 1044, as passed by the Senate, and has joined forces with other immigration advocates to urge Congress to strip such xenophobic provisions out of the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act.

AILA has been a long-time, ardent supporter of the elimination of per country quotas for employment-based immigrants to ensure that people are granted visas based on their skills and not their country of origin, but also is cognizant of the adverse impact some of the provisions of S.386/H.R. 1044 will have on many individuals from countries that are not currently experiencing immigrant visa backlogs. Because the bill will be helpful to some groups but disadvantage others, AILA has maintained a neutral position on the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 (H.R. 1044/S. 386), except when amendments were being discussed that would strip out important protections for individuals and their families who had been stuck in the green card backlog. When such provisions were removed, AILA resumed its position of neutrality. However, AILA cannot maintain its neutrality unless these latest changes, passed by the Senate, targeting Chinese nationals, are removed from the bill.

AILA supports the RELIEF Act and the principles it stands for to bring real reform to our immigrant visa system, including exempting spouses and minor children of primary applicants from the immigrant visa quotas, increasing the number of green cards over the next five years, protecting minor children from aging out, and eliminating the per country caps. AILA continues to encourage Congress to include these provisions in the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act to truly create a fair and equitable immigration system. Congress may take final action on this bill before it adjourns on December 18. We urge AILA members to contact their members of Congress to urge support for the provisions of the RELIEF Act and to oppose passage of S.386/H.R.1044 in its current form.