The Lampert Institute for Civic and Global Affairs and the Division of Natural Science and Mathematics hosted a visit by Amy Nice on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Nice is a former assistant director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she led science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent initiatives under the Biden administration.
As part of her visit, Nice joined an Economics of Immigration class and gave a lecture on effective immigration policy and its connection to STEM talent.
Nice shared that the United States has long held a leading position in acquiring global talent and has been the largest beneficiary of talent migration to date. Overall, immigration drives innovation across various sectors in the United States.
With this in mind, the Biden administration explicitly framed aspects of its immigration policy as an extension of STEM policy, aiming to help the U.S. attract and retain more international STEM talent. Moreover, Nice shared that the Biden Administration understood STEM immigration policy to be a national security imperative that could protect the security of the American people, defend American values and expand economic prosperity and opportunity.
Nice discussed reforming STEM immigration policy through agency-level changes, which she compared to a “small ball” approach: one that is simpler and more feasible than Congressional-level changes. This approach focuses on reforming policy for STEM degree holders, the research and development ecosystem and international students attending U.S. universities.
Nice emphasized that the unpredictability of our current immigration system can deter the attraction and retention of migrant talent, suggesting a need for new policy guidance. She also acknowledged that for a country that prides itself on talent, the United States admits less new talent than expected. Nice discussed the importance of retaining the talent of international students who attend U.S. universities — a concept that runs counter to current visa requirements.
Junior Will Keiser, a double major in computer science and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, shared how this lecture broadened his perspective of what his peers might be experiencing.
“I thought that Ms. Nice brought a really compelling approach to tackle such a complex problem like immigration under constantly changing administrations,” Keiser said. “As a STEM student, it’s not a problem that I’ve ever considered that my peers could be at odds with and I was glad to be able to learn about the current state of it.”
Senior Sophia Ceconi, a Lampert Scholar, shared how Nice’s lecture related to current political events.
“Amy Nice’s talk was well-timed as I’ve been following the news about government funding cuts to scientific research and the Trump administration’s attempt to revoke universities’ ability to enroll international students,” Ceconi said. “It was fascinating to learn the intricacies of the different types of visas we offer skilled foreign workers and students as someone interested in immigration and national security.”
Bradford Wiley Professor of International Economics and Chair of the Department of Economics, Nicole Simpson, currently teaches ECON 233: Economics of Immigration. Simpson welcomed Nice into her classroom, allowing students to consider the interaction between economic theory and the challenges of the political environment.
“[Nice] is an immigration lawyer by training, but has worked in D.C. for many years. Thus, she knows U.S. immigration policy well, especially as it pertains to high-skilled workers,” Simpson said. “She talked about how it’s important to have both the policy experts and data wonks – economists – in the room together when thinking through immigration policies.”
Nice provided insight into the challenges policymakers face when applying economic research to action.
“Even though she isn’t an economist, she values the perspectives of those of us who are trying to work on topics that are relevant to policymakers,” Simpson said. “She gave my students a sense of how hard it can be to change national policies on this topic, and how she looked for smaller wins as she has made changes in policies that make it easier for high-skilled immigrants to come and stay in the U.S. She gave my students some hope that change can happen and that we are still the world’s leader in attracting the best and brightest workers from around the world.”
Junior Jack Martin, an economics major enrolled in Simpson’s Economics of Immigration class, shared how he applied Nice’s lecture to the economic theory he learned at Colgate University.
“Amy Nice’s lecture was very informative about her previous work experience in the White House and how those experiences applied to the current situation of H1-B visas in America,” Martin said. “There were a lot of previous ideas of which I was not previously informed, and learning about her expertise of high skilled workers was a dynamic change from common concepts taught in economics courses at Colgate, which, for simplicity, usually lump high-skilled and low-skilled workers together.”
