Moreover, there are approximately 200,000 to 300,000 immigrant visa (green card)applications languishing in our immigration system because of processing inefficiencies as well as another set of artificial quotas. Unsurprisingly, these quotas, which also were set decades ago, no longer serve the national interest and, in fact, act as a deterrent to retaining global talent in the auto industry.
According to the Michigan Mobility Institute, the U.S. auto industry will require 115,000 new workers in the next decade, including 45,000 engineers and 70,000 skilled trades workers.
To meet the industry’s current and future demand for highly skilled workers, a more agile, efficient and consistent system for attracting and retaining critically needed global workers is urgently needed.
The U.S. auto industry’s transition to EVs and its continued development of autonomous driving technologies requires access to the most skilled, diverse work force possible тАФ regardless of nationality.
Foreign workers will be a critical component of filling this need. Our employment-based immigration system must, therefore, be brought into the 21st century so that it facilitates, rather than constrains, the growth of the industry.
