Contact: Louisa Tavlas
Email: ltavlas@niskanencenter.org
Washington, D.C, June 28, 2023 — Today, more than thirty organizations and experts specializing in healthcare, labor, innovation, and immigration sent a letter to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su encouraging the department to update its Schedule A occupation list to better reflect the conditions facing the current labor markets.
Co-led by the Niskanen Center, the coalition writes, “We urge the Department to utilize its legal authority to pursue a data-driven approach to updating Schedule A Group I to reflect the labor needs of today’s economy.”
Niskanen immigration research analyst Cecilia Esterine — a leading voice in the push to update the list — says, “updating the Schedule A list is an important step that the executive branch can take to alleviate administrative burdens and ballooning wait times, improve damaging labor shortages across sectors, and support the continued recovery of the American economy.”
Esterline adds, “Niskanen is honored to join this robust coalition that seeks an update to the Schedule A list for the first time in more than 30 years. It’s time for the Department of Labor to bring the Schedule A list into the 21st century.”
The letter, spearheaded by the Niskanen Center, the Institute For Progress, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council, and Labor Mobility Partnerships (LaMP), is signed by 22 organizations and 11 thought leaders.
The Niskanen Center is a 501(c)(3) advocacy organization established in 2014 to change public policy through direct engagement in the policymaking process.
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