UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION POLICY

Should the United States have a more Stringent Immigration Policy?



Should the United States have a more Stringent Immigration Policy?

Recent debates about United States immigration law have taken as self-evident that immigration restrictions are beneficial policy, with the only question being which level of authorities should impose the law, and how. Yet the case for immigration restrictions is far from realistic. Advocates of these restrictions rely on four possible arguments. First, that immigration dilutes existing languages, religious belief, family measures, cultural respects, and so on. Second, that immigrants flock to nations with ample social welfare programs, extending to built-up slums and inundated social networks. Third, that immigration can harm the sending country if the leaving immigrants are experienced labor. Fourth, that immigration lowers the income of native, low-skill employees. All of these controversies are erroneous, exaggerated, or mistaken. Immigration may alter cultural respects or standards, but nothing proposes this is a unconstructive.

Politicians are mired in disagreement over the future of the nation's unauthorized immigrant population. This is not surprising. The United States has the largest unauthorized immigrant population of any industrialized economy - by far. But while the reform debate remains stalled, the competitive forces shaping global economies continue to operate. In recent years, the United States has watched other countries fashion more nimble immigration policies allowing them to fill gaps in their workforces. In many ways, the policy questions regarding future immigrant flows will prove more crucial - and harder to resolve - than the illegal immigration conundrum. How much immigration do we need? Which of the would-be immigrants should get priority? How can employment-based immigration be more responsive to changing economic realities? These questions are important and they do not have simple answers.

If the United States is to retain its competitive advantage, its universities, firms and ...