“Amnesty” deadlocks comprehensive immigration reform. On one side are those who don’t want to forgive people who broke America’s archaic international labor market regulations, also known as our immigration laws; on the other, pro-immigration advocates won’t budge on the issue. Immigration reform, linked to amnesty and low skilled immigrants is a political non-starter — but that is not the case when it comes to highly skilled immigrants.
Two bills to positively reform the highly skilled immigration system were recently introduced in the Senate. The STAR Act, introduced by John Cornyn (R-TX), would eliminate the diversity lottery and redirect those green cards toward foreign graduates of American universities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (STEM). The SMART Act, introduced by Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Chris Coons (D-DE), is better because it would create a new temporary visa for STEM graduates without eliminating any other green card categories.
These bills are a welcome first step in immigration reform, and should not be derailed by fallacious arguments.
The most persistent argument against expanding immigration is that immigrants take American jobs. This view is based on the false notion that there is a fixed number of jobs to be divided among Americans. More realistically, Immigrants increase the productive potential of Americans, expanding the number of total jobs available. For example, American engineering firms that hire more foreign engineers also have to hire more accountants, assistants, managers, and can supply engineering services at more competitive prices to more clients — benefiting American firms and consumers.
Foreign skilled workers are mostly complements to Americans, not competitors. American skilled workers have distinct advantages over foreign workers, namely managerial ability, communication skills (because of language), and knowledge of firms and the U.S. market. Immigrants work where communication is less important, pushing Americans into managerial positions where those skills are more valuable. This division of labor increases production.
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