US still ‘losing its edge’ on global talent recruitment
美国仍在全球人才招聘中“失去优势”
Students from around the world coming to the US to pursue advanced degrees face a harsh reality of “being turned away” from their dream of working in the country due to “restrictive immigration policies”, a US congress sub-committee has heard.
美国国会小组委员会获悉，由于“限制性移民政策”，来自世界各地来美国攻读高级学位的学生面临着“被拒绝”在美国工作的梦想的严酷现实。
Chaired by senator Alex Padilla, the subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, and border safety held a hearing on “Strengthening our Workforce and Economy through Higher Education and Immigration”.
由参议员亚历克斯·帕迪拉（Alex Padilla）主持的移民，公民身份和边境安全小组委员会举行一场关于“通过高等教育和移民加强我们的劳动力和经济”的听证会。
“Enrolment of international students is falling. Potential international students are increasingly questioning whether it is worth it to come to study if there’s no path for them to stay and to work after graduation,” said Padilla.
“国际学生的入学率正在下降。 潜在的国际学生越来越多地质疑，如果他们毕业后没有留下来工作的道路，是否值得来学习，”帕迪拉说。
“Meanwhile, other countries who compete with us for economic and political leadership are making it more attractive for international students to come to their universities, and stay. They’re more than eager to recruit the students who are no longer coming to the United States. And why wouldn’t they be?” he continued.
“与此同时，与我们争夺经济和政治领导地位的其他国家正在使国际学生来到他们的大学并留下来更具吸引力。他们非常渴望招募不再来美国的学生。他们为什么不呢？“他继续说道。
It is not the first time the senator has publicly backed the international education sector. Padilla appealed to the US government over “continued concerns” about student visa delays in 2021.
这不是参议员第一次公开支持国际教育部门。帕迪拉呼吁美国政府对2021年学生签证延误的“持续担忧”。
Meanwhile, the hearing, which took place on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, also highlighted that hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients still “face roadblocks and uncertainty” based on their immigration status.
与此同时，在儿童入境暂缓遣返政策实施 10周年前夕举行的听证会还强调，数十万 DACA 接受者仍因其移民身份而“面临障碍和不确定性”。
The Presidents’ Alliance made a statement for the record regarding the hearing, where it insisted congress needs to pass a “permanent solution” for DACA recipients.
总统联盟就听证会发表了一份记录在案的声明，坚称国会需要通过一项针对 DACA 接受者的“永久解决方案”。
“All students deserve access to affordable higher education,” it said.
“所有学生都应该获得负担得起的高等教育，”方案中写道。
“No student should be denied access to higher education or financial aid based on their immigration status alone – congress has the ability to make statutory changes to clear the way for any student to pursue higher education and a later career,” it explained.
“任何学生都不应该仅仅因为他们的移民身份而被拒绝接受高等教育或经济援助—国会有能力进行法定修改，为任何学生追求高等教育和以后的职业生涯扫清道路，”方案中写道。
It also agreed with Padilla that the US is “losing its edge” among global talent recruitment, and insisted it was an issue of “bipartisan concern”.
它还同意帕迪拉的观点，即美国在全球人才招聘中“正在失去优势”，并坚称这是一个“两党关注”的问题。
“Our graduate science programs are particularly dependent on international students and scholars”
“我们的研究生科学项目特别依赖于国际学生和学者”
“International students are vital contributors to our knowledge and innovation agenda, and our graduate science programs are particularly dependent on international students and scholars,” the Presidents’ Alliance stated.
“国际学生是我们知识和创新议程的重要贡献者，我们的研究生科学课程特别依赖于国际学生和学者，“总统联盟表示。
“Congress should articulate the value of international students and send a message that they are welcome to succeed here by enacting proactive policies that help us attract, welcome and retain students,” it continued.
“国会应该阐明国际学生的价值，并发出一个信息，即欢迎他们通过制定积极的政策来帮助我们吸引，欢迎和住学生，”它继续说道。
Senator John Cornyn relented that the US immigration system was “struggling to keep pace” with demand in the workforce.
参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）表示，美国移民系统正在“努力跟上”劳动力需求的步伐。
“Per country caps have artificially limited access to employment-based visas for prospective immigrants from countries like India, preventing workers who want to contribute to our economy from being able to do so,” he said at the hearing.
他在听证会上说：“每个国家的上限人为地限制了来自印度等国家的潜在移民获得基于就业的签证，从而阻止了希望为我们的经济做出贡献的工人能够这样做。”
“I look forward to working with my colleagues to develop balanced, bipartisan policies to update our immigration system and meets the needs of today’s economy,” Cornyn added.
“我期待着与我的同事合作，制定平衡的两党政策，以更新我们的移民制度，满足当今经济的需求，”科宁补充说。
Dalia Larios, who is on the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program at Harvard Medical School in Boston, is a DACA recipient, and spoke to the committee about the struggles she faced as a child of 10 years old coming to the US with her parents.
Dalia Larios是波士顿哈佛医学院的哈佛放射肿瘤学项目的一名DACA获得者，她向委员会讲述了她10岁时和父母一起来到美国时面临的斗争。
“I constantly worried my parents would be taken away by ICE and never come home… the spectre of my undocumented status has overshadowed nearly every transition in my life… state laws classified me as an international student,” she told committee attendees.
“我一直担心我的父母会被洲际交易所带走，永远回不了家……我无证身份的幽灵几乎掩盖了我生活中的每一次转变……州法律将我归类为国际学生，”她告诉委员会与会者。
During questions, Cornyn asked Larios what she believes congress should prioritise – providing stability for DACA recipients, or providing employment based green cards for people with advanced degrees.
在提问中，科宁（Cornyn）问拉里奥斯她认为国会应该优先考虑什么——为DACA接受者提供稳定性，或者为拥有高等学位的人提供基于就业的绿卡。
“On topics like this, it’s common to want to pit immigrants against each other and try and figure out who is more deserving of these guarantees. I don’t personally consider myself more deserving than anyone else,” Larios replied.
“在这样的话题上，人们经常想让移民相互对抗，并试图找出谁更值得这些保证。我个人并不认为自己比任何人都更值得，“拉里奥斯回答说。
“I really urge for broad protection, for everyone to have the same opportunities that I’ve been able to have. Congress should approach this in a comprehensive manner. Lives are at stake here – it extends beyond a piece of paper,” she added.
“我真的敦促广泛的保护，让每个人同我一样的机会。国会应该以全面的方式处理这个问题。生命在这里岌岌可危—它不仅仅是一张白纸，“她补充说。
In its own statement for the record, NAFSA insisted that the best way forward to solve these issues was a proper, documented strategy on international education.
NAFSA在自己的声明中坚持认为，解决这些问题的最佳途径是适当的，有案可稽的国际教育战略。
“It is not by accident that other countries are succeeding in attracting talent… the US needs a national strategy to prioritise resources and ensure collaboration and compromise within and across key federal agencies,” NAFSA said. It called for a national strategy to return international student enrolment to pre-Covid-19 levels in November 2021.
“其他国家成功吸引人才并非偶然......美国需要一项国家战略来优先考虑资源，并确保关键联邦机构内部和之间的合作和妥协，“NAFSA说。它呼吁制定一项国家战略，在2021年11月将国际学生的入学率恢复到新冠疫情之前的水平。
“Any robust international student recruitment effort… must be paired with transparent, efficient and reliable visa processing and welcoming immigration policy,” it added.
“任何强大的国际学生招聘工作...必须与透明，高效和可靠的签证处理和欢迎移民政策相结合，“它补充说。
A first step for congress, NAFSA said, would be to allow international student visa applicants to express interest in remaining in the US after graduation.
NAFSA表示，国会的第一步是允许国际学生签证申请人表示有兴趣在毕业后留在美国。
The organisation was previously hopeful that the US Citizenship Act of 2021, introduced in mid-February 2021, would extend dual intent to F-1 students. That would mean that students would no longer be required to show an intent during visa application to depart the US when they complete their studies. However, the act remains stalled in congress.
该组织此前曾希望，2021年2月中旬出台的《2021年美国公民法案》将向F-1学生提供双重意图。这意味着学生将不再需要在签证申请期间表现出在完成学业后离开美国的意图。然而，该法案在国会仍然停滞不前。
“International students often choose which country to study in based on the opportunities to work following graduation,” said Bernard A. Burrola, VP for international, community and economic engagement at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, at the hearing.
国际学生通常根据毕业后的工作机会选择在哪个国家学习，“公立和赠地大学协会国际，社区和经济参与副总裁伯纳德·A·布罗拉（Bernard A. Burrola）在听证会上说。
“Our immigration law is the only one we know of that means you’re welcome to study, but you can’t stay”
我们的移民法是我们所知道的唯一一个意味着欢迎你学习，但你不能留下来”
“An advanced degree in the STEM fields should be a ticket to a green card, giving certainty to students and employers… the US still penalises prospective students in the visa process if they express an intent to stay in the US after graduation.
“STEM领域的高级学位应该是获得绿卡的门票，为学生和雇主提供确定性......美国仍然在签证过程中惩罚未来的学生，如果他们表示有意在毕业后留在美国。
“Our immigration law is the only one we know of that means you’re welcome to study, but you can’t stay,” Burrola added.
我们的移民法是我们所知道的唯一一部，这意味着欢迎你学习，但你不能留下来，”布罗拉补充道。
The economic imperative for attracting international students post graduation is “already clear”, Burrola said, but with DACA recipients, that imperative is also a moral one.
布罗拉（Burrola）说，在毕业后吸引国际学生的经济必要性“已经很明显”，但对于DACA获得者来说，这种必要性也是道德上的。
“For many, they were brought the US at such an early age, they can remember no other country as home… they are Americans in every way except citizenship.
“对于许多人来说，他们在这么小的年纪就被带到美国，他们不记得任何其他国家作为家......除了公民身份之外，他们在各个方面都是美国人。
“If DACA were to end, the economy would lose 22,000 jobs – and yet these undocumented people remain in an untenable situation,” he added.
“如果DACA结束，经济将失去22，000个工作岗位 - 但这些无证人员仍然处于难以为继的境地，“他补充说。
