DOD Likely to Ban All Non-U.S. Citizens from Unclassified Technology Jobs

The Department of Defense is reportedly implementing a new policy which would ban non-U.S. citizens from a large array of technology jobs and computer projects based on security concerns. This policy is expected to apply to unclassified projects that are still of a "sensitive" nature. While there has been no official release of information relating to the new policy, it appears it could be implemented within the next 60 to 90 days.

This new policy could potentially have an enormous impact on thousands of government and government contract employees and their employers. It will effect approximately 1/3 of all federal civilian employees as well as the myriad of private firms and their employees who have contracts with the government for technology projects. Although the Treasury Department has had limited restrictions in place since 1998 and the Justice Department recently instituted some restrictions, this new DOD policy would represent the biggest restriction by the government on foreign workers yet. Industry experts estimate that thousands of jobs could be effected by the new policy. In addition, the restrictions is likely to especially affect industries such as high-tech and consulting that recently had to heavily recruit foreign workers because of the lack of qualified U.S. technology workers.

The restrictions are likely to cause shortages of qualified workers. According to a March 7th LA Times article, even Richard A. Clarke, who is President Bush’s top cyber-security adviser, thinks the policy will be ineffective. Clarke stated, " In general trying to restrict the [information technology] professional that we use to American citizens is not going to be an effective approach. The U.S. does not produce enough American citizens who are IT-security-trained to operate our networks." The policy is also likely to prevent smaller firms or foreign owned companies, who may have smaller staffs and less flexibility to restaff projects with U.S. workers, from entering into contracts with the government. In addition, even if a firm or the government has enough qualified U.S. workers on staff, it will be costly to shuffle workers and restaff projects with U.S. citizens. Moreover, the increase in demand for qualified U.S. workers is likely to drive up salaries and increase the costs of entering into government contracts overall for firms. Finally, the DOD’s policy will strictly limit the available talent pool and could be cutting off individuals with unique skills merely because they are not a U.S. citizen even though they have not shown any indication that they are a security risk.

If you are interested in voicing your concerns on this issue or in trying to stop the implementation of this new policy, please contact our office and we would be happy to assist in arranging meetings with Congressional and government leaders.

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