Dreier Roundtable Hosted Conference on “Bridging the Immigration Divide: Forging a Bi-Partisan Policy on Visas for STEM Graduates”

Dreier Roundtable group

Video of conference (3/26)

EARLIER STORY (3/23):

The Dreier Roundtable (DRt) at Claremont McKenna College and the Brookings Institution will host DRt’s inaugural Washington, D.C. conference on immigration reform, “BRIDGING THE IMMIGRATION DIVIDE: Forging a Bi-Partisan Policy on Visas for STEM Graduates,” which will focus on how to retain foreign graduates of U.S. universities in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), on Thursday, March 26, at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

The “brain drain” caused by current immigration laws discourages foreign students who have obtained a degree in the United States from remaining here to pursue employment or start companies. DRt and Brookings are convening leaders in higher education, policy experts, and policymakers to find common ground on updating our visa laws to prevent losing talented graduates in areas vital to the American economy.

Finding common ground on immigration reform is a challenge in today’s polarized political atmosphere, and the need for deliberate, collegial debate and discussion is acute. This conference will reflect DRt’s core values of bipartisan engagement on vital public policy issues in an atmosphere of mutual interest and respect. To achieve this, the conference will consist of an expert panel, examining ideas for reform presented by Brookings & DRt scholars, and closing remarks from current and former White House advisors from both sides of the debate.

Speakers for the expert panel discussion on visas for STEM graduates will be:

  • Hiram Chodosh, President, Claremont McKenna College
  • Daniel Costa, Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research, Economic Policy Institute
  • Amy Nice, Executive Director, Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
  • Neil Ruiz, Senior Policy Analyst and Associate Fellow, Brookings Institution

William Antholis, Director and CEO, Miller Center, University of Virginia will moderate the expert panel discussion.

Closing remarks from current and former White House advisors include:

  • Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy
  • Barry Jackson, former political advisor to President George W. Bush and former chief of staff to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner

Hon. David Dreier '75 is also scheduled to speak during the opening and closing remarks.

The Dreier Roundtable is inspired by the career of David Dreier, longtime chairman of the House Rules Committee, 32-year veteran of Congress and recent appointee to Secretary of State John Kerry’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. He is a trustee and alumnus of Claremont McKenna College and distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. The Dreier Roundtable is also home of the Annenberg-Dreier Commission at Sunnylands, which works to strengthen the free flow of goods, services, capital, information, ideas and people throughout the greater Pacific.

EVENT INFORMATION:

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Brookings Institution

Falk Auditorium

1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20036

8:45 – 9:30 a.m.: Welcome Breakfast

9:30 – 10:50 a.m.: STEM Visa Report Panel Discussion

11:00 – 11:45 a.m.: Closing Remarks

A live webcast and video of the event are available at www.cmc.edu. Join the conversation on Twitter at #DreierRoundtable.

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