Background
- The United States economy has long been known for groundbreaking innovation
- American businesses stand at the vanguard of virtually every industry, supplying infrastructure, goods, and expertise to the global marketplace
- Innovative companies create high-paying jobs that improve the quality of life; and they drive the financial markets, securing the retirements of millions of Americans.
- Innovation is the key to success for a productive economy like the USA
- Innovation permeates every retailer, agricultural producers, and manufacturers thrive by advancing their operations with novel improvements
- American innovation rests on having the best and brightest working here
- The United States has benefited immensely from entrepreneurial and innovative high skilled immigrants’ contributions who have left their home country, accepting an invitation to travel to America for temporary work
- Some of them permanently make USA home, often advancing to leadership positions in their companies
- Yet, others move abroad to work for American companies abroad, expanding the nation’s economic leadership
How are these Work Visas Interlinked with the American Economy?
- Recognizing the benefits that temporary workers bring to the United States, Congress has long-established certain visa categories to allow these individuals to enter the country and work here
- Congress was well aware that American economic growth is not always spread evenly, and hence it already balanced the visa categories with calibrated protections for the domestic labor market
- Congress’s repeated adjustments to the visa programs involved—without changing their essential nature—stand as reaffirmations of this fundamental principle
- In making one such statutory adjustment, the Senate’s Report accompanying the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act expressly noted that H-1B visas are essential to growing the number of American jobs
- Economists and other scholars, therefore, agree that, far from taking jobs from Americans, the employment of temporary workers from abroad actually has the net effect of creating jobs for American-born workers
Purpose of Presidential Proclamation 10052
Presidential Proclamation 10052, issued on June 22, 2020, banned the entry into the United States of workers in several key nonimmigrant visa categories, purportedly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Why is this Proclamation Problematic?
- The proclamation is unreasonable and capricious according to Plaintiff and hence they wanted prompt injunctive and declaratory relief
- The Proclamation—which will last at least six months, if not longer, and which is expressly intended to bar hundreds of thousands of workers from entering the country
- Is actually inflicting severe economic harm on a wide range of American businesses across all economic sectors than saving “American Jobs”
- The Proclamation is unlawful: It exceeds the statutory and constitutional authority of the Executive, and thus the federal departments and officials involved may not lawfully implement or enforce it
- There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an economic crisis, however, the policy established by proclamation does not bear a rational relationship to the economic crisis
- The Proclamation also bans individuals who are ineligible to work in the United States, including children and certain spouses of temporary workers currently in the United States
- Some companies—especially small and medium-size companies—depend immensely on workers in covered visa categories
- This proclamation has farfetched repercussion in today’s competitive market for talent
- American economic leadership faced little external competition in the past, but times have changed other nations have become competitive and offering immigration benefits to this highly skilled population to grow their own business
“The Proclamation—which will last at least six months, if not longer, and which is expressly intended to bar hundreds of thousands of workers from entering the country—is inflicting severe economic harm on a wide range of American businesses across all economic sectors. The Proclamation is unlawful: It exceeds the statutory and constitutional authority of the Executive, and thus the federal departments and officials involved may not lawfully implement or enforce it. Plaintiffs bring this complaint requesting, among other things, prompt injunctive and declaratory relief”.
List of Plaintiffs and Their Credentials:
- Plaintiff National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
- NAM is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states
- The NAM is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
- The NAM is the voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States
- Plaintiff Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America (U.S. Chamber)
- Us Chamber is the world largest is the world’s largest business federation
- It represents approximately 300,000 direct members and indirectly represents the interests of more than 3 million companies and professional organizations of every size, in every industry sector, and from every region of the country.
- The U.S. Chamber is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
- Plaintiff National Retail Federation (NRF)
- NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants, and internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries
- The NRF is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
- Plaintiff Technology Network (TechNet)
- TechNet is the national, bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives that promotes the growth of the innovation economy by advocating a targeted policy agenda at the federal and 50-state level
- TechNet is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
- Plaintiff Intrax, Inc. (Intrax)
- Intrax) is a premier cultural exchange company that operates multiple Department of State-designated exchange programs that bring participants to the United States on J-1 visas
- Intrax is incorporated under the laws of the State of California and has its principal place of business in San Francisco, California
Who is the Defendant in this Lawsuit?
- United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- DHS is the federal department with substantial responsibility for immigration policy and enforcement
- The Proclamation charges the Department of Homeland Security with certain aspects of its implementation
- Defendant Chad F. Wolf is the Acting United States Secretary of Homeland Security. He is sued in his official capacity
- Defendant Michael R. Pompeo is the United States Secretary of State. He is sued in his official capacity.
List of nonimmigrant visa categories at the issue here
- L Visa Category
- H Visa Category
- J Visa Category
Who is Exempt for this Proclamation?
- The ban does not apply to noncitizens who were in the United States or held a valid nonimmigrant visa or other valid travel authorization document as of the Proclamation’s June 24, 2020, effective date. Ex. A, § 3(a).
- The Proclamation also exempts lawful permanent residents; spouses and children of U.S. citizens; “an alien seeking to enter the United States to provide temporary labor or services essential to the United States food supply chain”; and “any alien whose entry would be in the national interest as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.”
- H-1B visas, State Department guidance asserts that the waivers are available only for those working to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic, or those working on behalf of the U.S. government, to meet U.S. foreign policy objectives, or to satisfy a treaty or contractual obligation
- Similarly, for L-1 visas, the State Department guidance asserts that a waiver may be available for “[t]ravel as a public health or healthcare professional, or researcher to alleviate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or to conduct ongoing medical research in an area with a substantial public health benefit
Note: The Proclamation’s travel ban “shall expire on December 31, 2020,” but “maybe continued as necessary.”
More details about this lawsuit can be found here
AMICUS BRIEF OF LEADING COMPANIES AND BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION:
The law requires the President to make “find[ings]” that his actions will further “the interests of the United States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) (emphasis added); see also Doe #1 v. Trump, 957 F.3d 1050, 1067 (9th Cir. 2020) (finding it “unlikely that the government will succeed in its broad reliance on § 1182(f)” in issuing proclamation “with virtually no factual findings, minimal reasoning, and an extremely limited window for public comment”) Amici respectfully submit that the June Proclamation fails Section 1182(f)’s findings requirement because the indiscriminate suspension of these crucial nonimmigrant visa programs does not further the interests of the United States.
IDENTITY AND INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE
- Amici are corporations, trade associations, and other organizations focused on the business community
- They represent a broad range of sectors of the U.S. economy
- Collectively, they have hundreds of thousands of employees and members across the country and represent hundreds of billions of dollars in annual economic activity
- Amici have extensive experience with employment-based visas, including the H-1B, H-2B, and L-1 programs recently suspended by the President; they include some of the greatest beneficiaries of those programs
- They have experienced firsthand the benefits of these programs for their companies, their employees, and the U.S. economy more broadly
- Based on that experience and knowledge, they submit this brief to highlight the serious economic impact of suspending these programs and the ongoing and irreparable harms that result from doing so
List of Companies (AMICI)
- Adobe Inc.
- Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers
- com, Inc.
- Apple Inc.
- Atlassian, Inc.
- Autodesk, Inc.
- Bates White, LLC
- Box, Inc.
- BSA Business Software Alliance, Inc. d/b/a BSA | The Software Alliance
- Consumer Technology Association
- Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Dropbox, Inc.
- Facebook, Inc.
- us Education Fund
- GitHub, Inc.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
- HP Inc.
- HR Policy Association
- Information Technology Industry Council
- Institute of International Bankers
- Intel Corp.
- Internet Association
- Juniper Networks, Inc.
- LinkedIn Corporation
- Metro Atlanta Chamber
- Microsoft Corporation
- Netflix, Inc.
- New Imagitas, Inc.
- North Texas Commission
- Partnership for a New American Economy Research Fund
- PayPal, Inc.
- Plaid Inc.
- Postmates Inc.
- Reddit, Inc.
- com, inc.
- SAP SE
- Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)
- ServiceNow, Inc.
- Shutterstock, Inc.
- Silicon Valley Bank
- Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
- Splunk Inc.
- Square, Inc.
- SurveyMonkey Inc.
- Twitter, Inc.
- Uber Technologies, Inc.
- Upwork Inc.
- Vail Valley Partnership
- VMware, Inc.
- Workday, Inc.
- Xylem Inc.
- Zillow Group, Inc.
Details of the background and arguments can be found here
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