1.
Our
existing immigration laws are anachronistic and -therefore- enforcing the law
has undesirable consequences. The law should be changed to guide immigration
policy towards a clearly articulated and desired outcomes in line with American
core values and the national interest.
2.
America
would not be what it is without the regular waves of immigration it has
absorbed over the ages since the time that the land bridge between Siberia and
Alaska allowed the settlement of the North American continent. America has
proven capacity to assimilate masses of newcomers.
3.
Seventeen
percent of the U.S. workforce is foreign-born. But about a third of immigrant
workers do not have authorization to work legally in the U.S. and yet America
has a labor shortage in several sectors of its economy. That should tell us
something. And it will get worse: The government projects that the economy will
add 9.8 million jobs between 2014 and 2024 and that the labor force will only
grow by 7.9 million workers (only by immigration).
4.
Uncontrolled immigration is a sign of failed
national security policy and inadequate border security measures. The blame for
this and the task to address it falls in equal measure on all three branches of
government, but Congress will have to rectify it.
5.
Responsible
government of any nation needs to know at any time who resides within its
borders, for what purpose and under what title (citizenship, visa, green card).
This may be an unattainable feat without a legally required forge-proof,
biometric, identity card for anyone who is not a casual visitor (tourist).
6.
The
loop can then be closed, and stragglers can be kept out without building a
wall, by mandating presentation of this identity card for obtaining a job, a
bank account, credit card, driver’s license, access to education, and other
similar life necessities.
7.
The
U.S. economy needs immigration for three primary reasons:
a.
As
the baby boom generation leaves the workforce, the number of working-age adults
born in the U.S. to U.S. born parents will decline by 8.2 million. Between now
and 2035, all growth in the U.S. workforce will be entirely due to immigrants
and their children.
b.
Jobs
that require little formal education will be of less interest to an
increasingly educated U.S.-born workforce. There are numerous jobs Americans
simply don’t want to do anymore.
c.
Immigrants
and their children need to take the place of the retiring baby boomers,
replacing them as contributors to our social security systems.
8.
The
first order of business is to create an accommodation for undocumented
immigrants currently in the U.S. – either in the workforce or a spouse or child
of a worker – to allow them to legally reside and work in the U.S. (leaving
aside, for now, the issue of citizenship). It is unthinkable to ask accelerated
growth from our economy without the active participation of the approximately 9
million undocumented immigrants who are now part of the workforce.
9.
The
only legitimate and compelling reason to expel undocumented immigrants from
this country is if they have a criminal record unrelated to their entry into
the U.S.; if they pose a significant security risk; or if they have no
capability or intent to contribute to the U.S. economy and have no family
members willing to support them.
10.
The
next order of business is to align immigration policy with the core values and
the economic interests of America. I posit that such policy would have to:
a.
Enshrine
that America continues to be a safe haven for verified refugees.
b.
Keep
immigrant families together.
c.
Attract
foreign talent irrespective of origin and encourage foreign students to
participate in the U.S. economy after graduation.
d.
Attract
foreign workers for sectors of our economy that are highly dependent on
immigrant labor.
11.
The
only public interest in controlling and limiting immigration is in the need for
national security, to keep undesirables out and guard against oversupplying the
labor market.
12.
Immigration
will only stop if America no longer offers the promise of a better future. We
should all hope it never gets to that point.
