Bridging the Immigration Divide

March 26, 2015

Dreier Roundtable (DRt) and the Brookings Institution hosts DRt’s inaugural Washington, DC, conference, focusing on how to retain foreign graduates of U.S. universities in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Thursday, March 26, 2015. (Sharon Farmer/sfphotoworks)

The “brain drain” caused by current immigration laws discourages foreign students who’ve obtained a degree in the United States from remaining here to pursue employment or entrepreneurial opportunities, and in the process enhance U.S. growth and competitiveness. 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.

On March 26,2015, the Dreier Roundtable (DRt) and the Brookings Institution hosted DRt’s inaugural Washington, DC, conference, focusing on how to retain foreign graduates of U.S. universities in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Brookings and DRt scholars presented ideas for reform and worked to find consensus on updating U.S. visa laws to prevent losing talented graduates in areas vital to the American economy. This conference reflected DRt’s core values of bipartisan engagement on critical public policy issues in an atmosphere of mutual interest and respect.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE, VIDEOS, AND PICTURES

FULL CONFERENCE VIDEO

Opening Remarks

The Hon. David Dreier
Distinguished Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Panel Discussion

William Antholis, Director and CEO, Miller Center, University of Virginia
Moderator

Participants:

• Hiram Chodosh, President, Claremont McKenna College
• Daniel Costa, Director, 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, The Brookings Institution

Closing Keynotes

Barry Jackson, Managing Director, The Lindsey Group; Strategic Advisor at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP; Former Chief of Staff, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH); Former Assistant for Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs, President George W. Bush.

Felicia Escobar, Special Assistant to the President for Immigration Policy