Keep Your Tired & Poor, Send Someone with an Education
“Trump has been calling for a merit-based immigration system, …, to reduce overall immigration to the US.”[1] (PTI, 1/12/18) According to Trump, who recently stated that all the immigrants we get are coming from “shithole countries”, this shift will help the US decrease the flow of illegal drugs into the US. In his efforts to “stand against chain migration, he calls for ending the Visa Lottery system” [2](PTI, 1/10/18) which he claims is responsible for the chain migration responsible for the influx of “Bad Hombres” and other undesirable type of immigrants.
So what is the difference? Chain migration or family based immigration, which is the primary model currently used by the United States, is “the social process by which immigrants from a particular town follow others from that town to a particular destination city or neighborhood.”[3](Wikipedia, Chain Migration) Therefore the general means of immigration into the US is through a US citizen immediate relative. One other possibility for entry is also applying for and winning the Visa Lottery – “a United States government lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. The Immigration Act of 1990 established the current and permanent Diversity Visa (DV)”[4](Wikipedia, Diversity Immigrant Visa).
Alternatively, “Merit-based immigration would reward points based on high-paying job offers, past achievements, English-language ability and education. All that would be taken into account when green card applications are considered. “It gives points for different characteristics, which are age, the salary you able to command, and how much money you are going to invest in the U.S. economy,” said Naomi Tsu of the Southern Poverty Law Center.” [5](Barros, 2017) Critics of this plan state that this shift will have adverse effects to the American economy which is heavily reliant on low skilled workers.
Under its current system “[a] U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident (green card holder) can sponsor relatives from his or her home country to move to the United States. Spouses and minor children qualify as immediate relatives and do not need to wait for a visa number. For those individuals, there’s no quota, and the U.S. citizen can simply file a petition.” [6](Barros, 2017) This type of shift in immigration policy will put an end to a system attempting to reunite families and shift to one that will greatly increase the value of education and monetary accomplishment. In other words, keep your tired poor and hungry and send us your educated, wealthy English speakers. Unfortunately, with our lack of universal healthcare and poor education system, citizens of Iceland and New Zealand are not clamoring to get in.
Perhaps the best answer is some blending of the two policies. A system that only accepts immediate family forces those coming from desperate situations to take what could be considered dangerous measures to come to or remain in the US. Just ask Melania Trump. On the other hand, a policy that supports merit based migration only leaves those with limited access to education or money with little hope. Immigration policy should be beneficial to not only the economy but also to its citizens. Going forward the answer may be to find some compromise between the two. This may encourage US citizens to ensure that family members attempting to be reunited in the US learn English and/or get educated before beginning their journey to a new home.
[1] PTI (January 12th, 2018) US President Donald Trump wants merit based immigration to end massive drug inflow http://bit.ly/2FC51J3
[2] PTI (January 10th, 2018) Trump pushes for merit-based immigration http://bit.ly/2Dbdmpw
[3] Wikipedia (January 15th, 2018) Chain Migration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_migration
[4] Wikipedia (January 15th, 2018) Diversity Immigrant Visa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_Immigrant_Visa
[5] Barros Aline (November 1st, 2017) Merit-based Versus Family-based Immigration Explained http://bit.ly/2iQlDpw
[6] Barros Aline (November 1st, 2017) Merit-based Versus Family-based Immigration Explained http://bit.ly/2iQlDpw
