You're watching...
Overstock.com president Jonathan Johnson on how immigration reform could impact the company’s hiring.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
Our President Obama getting set to unveil his own planned for immigration reform this afternoon a big part of that plan.
May try to keep high skilled workers right here in the US senator Marco Rubio talked about that last night with Lou Dobbs here's what he said.
In the 21 century we cannot have an immigration system that were only six and a half percent of the people that come here do so based on skill.
Look I'm a supporter family based immigration that's how my parents came but in the 21 century -- our immigration system has to be more skills base than it is right now.
And one company that says it cannot survive without educated immigrant workers is Internet shopping site Overstock.Com.
And Jonathan Johnson is the president's.
He joins me now and -- -- do you have a lot of powerful backers behind what I know that you want investigate more skilled workers.
Citizenship in this country.
Up but still there seems to be resistance from those that say that these job should go to.
Americans how -- you respond -- that.
Well these jobs need filling and whether it's Americans are skilled workers.
We need more workers and I think it's.
Where the real problems is we're bringing immigrants into our colleges and universities.
We're training them and then we don't let them stay in fact we force them to go elsewhere.
And create competition for American workers.
You know 40% of fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants but what we've seen especially the last 68 years is a lot of backlash against illegal immigration into this country how do you balance.
-- -- we're not talking about skilled workers but also the labor force in this country you know people that are picking fruit in California farmers are looking for those type of skilled.
Labor as well that's different -- the what you need but how do you balance that do you think -- make it fair that we don't have an influx.
Of too many immigrants into United States.
You know what what we need is a system that works in that allows.
Allows businesses to hire the workers that they need.
The current immigration system is so broken it's like a business trying to operate without computers it's arcane and doesn't work and so.
You know whether it's skilled workers -- bring -- or.
Field workers.
These are jobs that need filling and if we don't have Americans that are willing to do that work are not -- -- do that work you we need to find a way to bring them here.
So what are the skills that you need a phenomena go ahead and then take a big way parents say that -- engineering it is IT.
We -- seeing a lot of like nuclear physicist for example there's a huge demand for that but -- have a skill sets are you not being able to -- right now what jobs you can you not fill.
With an American worker right now.
New jobs -- we have a hard time filling our software engineers.
Statisticians.
Mathematicians.
This is that things that we constantly have open positions for -- we're trying to fell.
Are you going overseas seven -- recruitment efforts are you going to India are you going to China looking for these workers because.
Again if you sponsor these workers here in the US under current lot you can have them as an employee with where's that where's the breakdown here.
So we're looking for people that are already here in the United States.
Students that are graduating from universities and graduate programs we want them to be able to stay here.
These are folks that are by their very actions showed that there.
That there innovative that there -- entrepreneurs who have left their homeland.
They've come here to better themselves and those are just the kind of people -- we wanna have working for.
Such I think -- certainly understand Washington as the president of a major American corporation you understand that Washington is flawed.
And that the debate whether it's bipartisan or not is going to come down to.
Where do we draw the line on how many workers we allow it to this country illegally how many.
Citizenship.
-- you know pieces of paper do we hand out before that limit is reached when you still have unemployment frankly seven point 8%.
In this country.
You know that we'll be part of the discussion.
I think it's important to note though that studies have shown.
Good for every one of these workers we bring him I that they create.
More than two almost three jobs for Americans so.
It's hiring people that are innovative that are creating new technologies.
Allow businesses to grow and hire more American workers -- to me it's not a zero sum game.
It's a game where if we bring people in the economy grows and everyone benefits.
Well you know the US chamber and again it's a bipartisan bill coming out of the senate the presence can have his plan.
-- -- -- debate there but certainly something seems to be happening here Jonathan Johnson the president of overstock Jonathan thank you.
You're welcome thank you.
