THOUGHTS ON IMMIGRATION

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.