Trump immigration hurting US innovation, says expert

Stanford: Restrictive US immigration policies under President Donald Trump are pushing talent and innovation out of America, with India emerging as a key beneficiary, Silicon Valley-based immigration expert Vivek Wadhwa said.

Drawing on personal experience and research, Wadhwa told IANS the United States is losing its competitive edge as barriers to skilled migration rise. “We’re chasing the best and the brightest away… these backwards immigration policies… are doing a lot of damage now,” he said in an interview.

Wadhwa, who has studied the role of immigrants in US innovation, pointed to a steady decline in immigrant-led startups. “Half of the startups here in Silicon Valley were founded by people like us… over a decade that number… dropped substantially to about 40 per cent, 44 per cent. And now it’s probably in the thirties, if even that much,” he said.

Responding to a question, he cited his own attempt to build a medical diagnostics company in Silicon Valley as an example. Despite his network, he struggled to secure funding and talent. “I couldn’t find the talent here. I couldn’t find the money here,” Wadhwa said, adding that investors were reluctant to support a venture with research and development outside the United States.

He eventually shifted operations to India, working with institutions such as IIT Madras and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. “Within a year, they made breakthroughs that were inconceivable in the United States,” he said.

Wadhwa attributed this to India’s depth in interdisciplinary science. “India still has… people who understand thermodynamics, who understand plasma physics, who understand chemistry, who understand electrical engineering,” he said, contrasting it with what he described as a shortage of such talent in the US startup ecosystem.

Efforts to bring international talent to the United States were blocked by visa hurdles. “With this H-1B backlog and problem… there’s no way I could bring the talent I wanted,” he said.

He said the current system discourages long-term commitment from skilled migrants. “They can’t get green cards… they’re worried about getting kicked out any day… who wants to come here like this?” he said.

Wadhwa compared the situation to his own experience in the 1980s. “When I came here… it took me 18 months to get a green card. Today it would take me 70 years,” he said.

He warned that the impact goes beyond migration and affects innovation itself. “Innovation is globalised and stupid policies trying to keep people out will only keep innovation out,” he said, adding that the US risks losing its technological leadership.

Wadhwa said his company plans to bring its technology to the United States only after pilot testing in India, reflecting a broader shift in where innovation is taking place.

The comments come as Washington debates immigration reforms and the role of foreign talent in sustaining US leadership in technology and science. Skilled immigration, particularly through the H-1B visa programme, has long been central to Silicon Valley’s growth.

IANS