Immigration Reform Reality Check: Do Washington's Plans Work for HR Professionals?
As leaders in Washington work on immigration legislation and implement agency policies, the stakes are high for HR professionals. Sensible, efficient immigration policies can help you hire the skilled workers required to meet your organization’s needs and build America’s workforce. This panel’s discussion will focus on hearing from HR professionals about whether proposed immigration reforms and regulations help or hinder their ability to access and retain key foreign talent and how ACIP and SHRM can best convey any needed changes to leaders in Washington. The panel includes speakers from the American Council on International Personnel (ACIP), SHRM’s strategic affiliate focused on advancing global mobility, as well as HR professionals that deal with high volumes of immigration cases.
Claire Sala Ayer, Vice Chair
Thomas M. Barnett, J.D.
Thomas Barnett, JD is the Director, International Office, The Scripps Research Institute.
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) ranks fifth in terms of the largest number of foreign scientists/visa holders in the country. The International Office processes between two and four thousand visa transactions per year. Foreign nationals account for 75% of the TSRI postdoctoral community from 56 countries.
Justin Storch
Mr. Storch supports the Council for Global Immigration’s Government Affairs team as Manager of Agency Liaison, responsible for working with federal immigration agencies to ensure employment-based immigration policies enable U.S. employers to build America’s future workforce, grow the economy and create U.S. jobs. Prior to joining the Council, Mr. Storch worked as an immigration paralegal at both Trow & Rahal, PC and Freilicher & Hoffman, PC. Mr. Storch has also spent time serving in the offices of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and U.S. Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL). Mr. Storch received his JD from American University, where he worked as a student attorney in the university’s Immigrant Justice Clinic. Mr. Storch also holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Rebecca Peters
Mrs. Peters has worked with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) since October 2018. She previously worked for SHRM’s former affiliate the Council for Global Immigration (CFGI) in the Washington DC metro-area for nearly fifteen years, helping to advance high skilled immigration and employment verification reforms with the U.S. Congress, the White House and the federal agencies. She has served as a chair of the policy committee of the Compete America coalition. She also serves on other coalitions and working groups to educate and advance immigration system efficiencies and to ensure critical changes to employer immigration compliance are reasonable.