Jaya Padmanabhan

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A bill ciculating in the House of Representatives would harshly crack down on sanctuary cities and immigrants. (Jessica Christian/2016 S.F. Examiner)

San Francisco, what do we do about the Davis-Oliver Act?

With the House Judiciary Committee’s approval of House of Representatives Bill 2431…

A bill ciculating in the House of Representatives would harshly crack down on sanctuary cities and immigrants. (Jessica Christian/2016 S.F. Examiner)
Our federal and state policies should focus more on training for our border patrol and customs enforcement agents, not on higher, impenetrable walls. (Courtesy photo)

Border patrol agents aren’t all cruel and heartless

‘Look, I told [my mother], I spent four years in college studying…

Our federal and state policies should focus more on training for our border patrol and customs enforcement agents, not on higher, impenetrable walls. (Courtesy photo)
At first, internment camp administrators prohibited photography of fences and guard towers. This image was published in the 1943-44 Manzanar high school year book. (Courtesy “Exclusion”/Presidio Officers’ Club)

How the barbed wire fences of Japanese internment camps were snipped

In “Storied Lives,” Gary Y. Okihiro’s book on Japanese-American students and World…

At first, internment camp administrators prohibited photography of fences and guard towers. This image was published in the 1943-44 Manzanar high school year book. (Courtesy “Exclusion”/Presidio Officers’ Club)
President Donald Trump speaks at the Snap-on Inc. headquarterson Tuesday in Kenosha, Wis., where he signed the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

What ‘60 Minutes’ didn’t say about H-1B visas

CBS’s “60 Minutes” program recently did a segment on how IT jobs…

President Donald Trump speaks at the Snap-on Inc. headquarterson Tuesday in Kenosha, Wis., where he signed the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
Saying there is a shortage of “quality tech workers” is like saying there are not enough Stephen Currys in the NBA. (Left: Courtesy photo; Right: Stan Olszewski/Special to S.F. Examiner)

What’s quality got to do with it? On tech shortage, H-1Bs and Stephen Curry

"What you have to realize is that all talent isn’t created equal.…

Saying there is a shortage of “quality tech workers” is like saying there are not enough Stephen Currys in the NBA. (Left: Courtesy photo; Right: Stan Olszewski/Special to S.F. Examiner)
Any perceived shortage in tech workers cannot be derived accurately because of the wide-ranging acquisitive techniques employed by tech companies. (Ryan McNulty/2016 Special to S.F. Examiner)

Is there really a tech worker shortage?

Here’s what we know about H-1B visas: The tech industry postulates a…

Any perceived shortage in tech workers cannot be derived accurately because of the wide-ranging acquisitive techniques employed by tech companies. (Ryan McNulty/2016 Special to S.F. Examiner)
After years of waiting for a green card while working under the H-1B visa system, Rishi Misra finally became a United States resident in April 2016. (Courtesy photo)

H-1B visa: A policy of constrainment

Many immigrants have a story behind their longing for America, and most…

After years of waiting for a green card while working under the H-1B visa system, Rishi Misra finally became a United States resident in April 2016. (Courtesy photo)
Tech companies in the United States are using the H-1B visa to hire the people they need, but tech companies from India, for example, are flooding the H-1B system with petitions and fill positions from India to fulfill their own job-market predictions. (Courtesy photo)

H-1B visa: Gateway to outsource San Francisco jobs

In my last column, I wrote about the H-1B visa system and…

Tech companies in the United States are using the H-1B visa to hire the people they need, but tech companies from India, for example, are flooding the H-1B system with petitions and fill positions from India to fulfill their own job-market predictions. (Courtesy photo)
Nikhil Aitharaju came to the United States in 2010 and, after graduating from USC, started his own venture in San Francisco — all the while waiting for an H-1B visa. (Courtesy FWD.us)

Keep jobs in America by increasing the H-1B quota

One of the most arresting stories I’ve read about H-1B woes is…

Nikhil Aitharaju came to the United States in 2010 and, after graduating from USC, started his own venture in San Francisco — all the while waiting for an H-1B visa. (Courtesy FWD.us)
The Women’s March in San Francisco should be seen as a waring to President Donald Trump to do the right thing and pay attention to the voices of people from all walks of life. (Jaya Padmanabhan/Special to S.F. Examiner)

Silently marching in place

I experienced “Hidden Figures.” I watched the movie at a theater where…

The Women’s March in San Francisco should be seen as a waring to President Donald Trump to do the right thing and pay attention to the voices of people from all walks of life. (Jaya Padmanabhan/Special to S.F. Examiner)
The “Hearts in San Francisco” installation in Union Square in 2015 featured hundreds of Polaroids of San Franciscans, taken by San Franciscans — a message that still rings true in 2017. (Courtesy photo)

Five verbs to get us through 2017

I’m not a big believer in resolutions. Mostly, they’ve been a January…

The “Hearts in San Francisco” installation in Union Square in 2015 featured hundreds of Polaroids of San Franciscans, taken by San Franciscans — a message that still rings true in 2017. (Courtesy photo)
Whether you agree with the results of the Pew poll or not, you have to admit that San Francisco is right on the ball in terms of its stance on immigration and sanctuary city policy. (Courtesy Pew Research Center)

What a Pew poll says about our views on undocumented immigrants

A Pew Research Center national poll, conducted in August 2016 among 2,010…

Whether you agree with the results of the Pew poll or not, you have to admit that San Francisco is right on the ball in terms of its stance on immigration and sanctuary city policy. (Courtesy Pew Research Center)
Diana Wong, 27, of San Francisco, was able to enroll in college and now works with a nonprofit outreach coordinator, thanks to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. (Courtesy photo)

The cost of Deferred Action and cost of ending Deferred Action

Diana Wong, a 27-year-old San Francisco resident, came to America with her…

Diana Wong, 27, of San Francisco, was able to enroll in college and now works with a nonprofit outreach coordinator, thanks to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. (Courtesy photo)
Former San Francisco Mayor and California Senator James D. Phelan, circa 1920. (Los Angeles Times/ UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections)

Modeled on Japanese internment, Muslim registry opens old wounds

Recently, I read Bay Area-born writer Julie Otsuko’s exquisitely framed novel, “The…

Former San Francisco Mayor and California Senator James D. Phelan, circa 1920. (Los Angeles Times/ UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections)
Mohanad and Hadeel at an International Rescue Committee event, “Family and Food Stories: From Burma to the Bay,” on Oct. 26. (Courtesy photo)

Stories of Refugees, Part IV: Out of Syria

Mohanad Hussein, his young wife, Hadeel, and their toddler Nusreen arrived in…

Mohanad and Hadeel at an International Rescue Committee event, “Family and Food Stories: From Burma to the Bay,” on Oct. 26. (Courtesy photo)
The selection and vetting process for Syrian refugees coming to America is long and tedious and includes numerous security checks and medical exams. (Courtesy photo)

Stories of Refugees, Part III: Out of Syria

‘My mother is a very good cook,” 18-year-old Basima said, her smile…

The selection and vetting process for Syrian refugees coming to America is long and tedious and includes numerous security checks and medical exams. (Courtesy photo)
People travel for medical treatment from the Thai Military Medical Team during humanitarian assistance in Hinthada, Myanmar, on Sep 1, 2015. (Courtesy photo)

Stories of Refugees, Part II: Out of Burma

The Burma-Karen conflict, one of the longest running civil wars in the…

People travel for medical treatment from the Thai Military Medical Team during humanitarian assistance in Hinthada, Myanmar, on Sep 1, 2015. (Courtesy photo)
Ahmed Hashem is an Iraqi refugee who came to San Francisco in 1994. (Courtesy photo)

Stories of Refugees, Part I: Out of Iraq

In the next few fortnights, this column will focus on stories of…

Ahmed Hashem is an Iraqi refugee who came to San Francisco in 1994. (Courtesy photo)
Men and women who have passed their citizenship tests and become American citizens sit in the front row during a news conference for National Citizenship Day at the Portsmouth Square Club House. (Courtesy photo)

Green card holders: Become citizens and vote

The Portsmouth Square Club House, near Chinatown, was packed with Chinese immigrants…

Men and women who have passed their citizenship tests and become American citizens sit in the front row during a news conference for National Citizenship Day at the Portsmouth Square Club House. (Courtesy photo)
People gather outside the Department of Homeland Security offices in San Francisco on Aug. 22 to protest the alleged abuse of immigrant detainees and to encourage the passage of the Dignity Not Dentention Act. (Courtesy Raquel Ortega)

Where’s your pen, Gov. Brown?

On Aug. 22, one of those deceptively cold San Francisco mornings, a…

People gather outside the Department of Homeland Security offices in San Francisco on Aug. 22 to protest the alleged abuse of immigrant detainees and to encourage the passage of the Dignity Not Dentention Act. (Courtesy Raquel Ortega)