Every spring, graduates proudly take the walk to receive their diplomas from colleges and universities across Tennessee. Many of them earn degrees in science and technology.
Unfortunately, for those who came here from foreign countries to study, many of them will not be able to stay in Tennessee and put that cutting-edge knowledge to work – thanks to our outdated and broken immigration system.
For a company like Caterpillar, that’s a problem. In today’s increasingly competitive global economy, we, along with businesses across the spectrum of the American economy, need any edge we can get – especially in the race for innovation.
The world is changing, and our competition is global. We need access to the world’s best talent, regardless of where they are born. In an ideal world, we would hire Americans for every job open in America, but we simply aren’t producing enough American graduates in STEM-related fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – to fill the jobs we have available.
It’s not just Caterpillar, and it’s not just the business world. Fixing the broken immigration system also matters to the agriculture, construction, faith and law enforcement communities.