Damaging economic effect of the point system

I am a liberal on most political issues and for me posting in this forum is close to a form of scarilege. However, on the issue of the immigration "grand bargain"  I find myself in despair at the blindness of its supporters.

The bill is a giant train wreck and I don't know if it can be stopped before the actual crash occurs.

Most of the discussion, both in press and on the internet, of the "grand compromise" proposal centers around its "amnesty" provisions.  

However, there is another aspect of the bill that will have profoundly negative consequences for the U.S. economy, but which is largely being ignored in the public debate.

I am talking about the wholesale revision of the legal immigration system and introduction of the so-called point system for green cards.

The rationale offered for this change is to shift the focus of the
U.S. immigration policy from family connections to the educational
level and job skills. While this is a good idea in general, the point
system, as described in the bill, in the wrong and even disastrous
way to implement it.

I am a professor at a large research-oriented university, and, being an
immigrant myself, am very well familiar with the current immigration
system, including its strengths and weaknesses. In academia the
talent and the job skills of future faculty are paramount. Thus I
might be expected to be a natural supporter of a "merit-based'
system for immigration. However, after studying the proposed bill, I
came to the conclusion that it will have disastrous consequences for
the U.S. economy and the high-tech industry and research base in
particular.

The main problems of the proposed point system are:

1) It largely decouples the immigration process from the actual
needs of the U.S. employers. A job offer from a U.S. employer (which
plays a central role in the current employment-based portion of the
immigration system) will play only a minor role. Government
bureaucrats, rather than market forces, will get to decide what kind
of immigrants the U.S. economy needs. This is a socialist central planning approach that has been discredited by history and practice.

2) The point system eliminates the flexibility of moving different
portion of an immigration pool through the immigration process with
different speeds. Thus workers that are really critically needed
will have to wait in one common giant unstructured queue, together
with all the other non-family-based applicants.

For example, the bill totally eliminates the currently existing
provisions for expedited treatment of such categories as outstanding
professors and researchers, aliens of extraordinary ability, etc. A
Nobel Prize winner will have to wait in the same quota queue as all
the other applicants.

3) The point system is based on an irrational principle of trying to
compare on a single point scale the needs of extremely diverse and
incomparable sectors of the economy, such as high-tech industry,
nursing and agriculture. One would not dream of applying a similar
principle when shopping in a supermarket! The way to deal with this
issue is to allocate separate quotas to separate employment
categories, as the current employment-based portion of the immigration system does.

4) The bill completely eliminates existing labor protections
provided by the labor certification system for employment-based
applicants. The labor certification system ensures that these
applicants are paid at least the prevailing wage in their specialty
and that no downward drive for the wages is generated as a result.

The proposed point system completely scraps these protections. It
will result in large-scale importation of people with no job or
family connections in the U.S. Apart from downward pressure on
wages, these people, even if they are highly educated, will often
have a hard time entering the economy and will increase the burden
on the social and economic safety net. Having a doctoral degree is
no guarantee of being able to find a job.  The market for the
relevant jobs is fairly limited, highly specialized and extremely competitive. Only the very best have a chance of succeeding.

Canada's experience shows that this unwise policy leads to many
immigrants with MDs and PhDs driving cabs in Toronto. We do not want
to follow this example.

5) The bill will further hurt the U.S. employers who really need
highly qualified immigrant workers by greatly increasing the green
card  processing times, including for critical categories. There are
several reasons for this. First, as I mentioned before, since all
the non-family-based applicants will be placed in a single
unstructured queue, it will be impossible to move different parts of
this queue with different speeds. Once an applicant gets past the
required point threshold, say 50 points out of 100, he or she
becomes eligible to apply for a green card. Thus someone with no job
or family ties, who barely squeaks by with 51 points, will be
treated the same as a critically needed researcher whom NIH wants to
hire for breakthrough cancer research.

Second, since a job offer will be no longer required, the number of
people worldwide who are technically eligible to apply for a green
card will increase at least a hundred-fold. Surely, this will result
in a huge increase in the number of applications and in much longer
processing times for everybody. In effect, the point system is a
giant world-wide lottery for people with college degrees. That is not what the U.S. economy really needs.

The current employment-based portion of the immigration system is
already as merit-based as possible and it has a sound general
structure. The way to achieve the bill's stated goals is to
strengthen this portion of the current immigration system and to
increase the manpower and financial resources allocated to it.

The proposed point system will critically damage the U.S. high-tech
industry and the U.S. research base, who need the ability to hire
quickly the very best, the most talented and the most uniquely
qualified people from around the world.

The bill attempts to solve the illegal immigration problem (with at
best a questionable chance of success) at the price of completely
wrecking the legal immigration system. The bill will hurt the U.S.
economy and critically damage the economic competitiveness and the
future prosperity of the United States. This is an unacceptable
price to pay.
 

 

This is good information.  Thanks for the post.

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I see no need for immigration at all for at least 18 years. The U.S. is flooded with immigrants now, the country needs time to assimilate those that are here. We are training Engineers to be WallMart Greeters now. How will the Americans children graduating from college find jobs if we are importing college graduates from around the globe. Is industry subject to people or is people subject to industry? Is Government subject to citizens or is Government subject to Industry? There is no need for immigration on any education or skill level. Only the Global Plutocracy could think in the context you stated.

Ditto Algebra ***

As someone who is involved in complicated negotiations on a professional level I can tell you this entire piece of legislation is pathetic. 

Simple compromise regarding amnesty/guestworkers etc. would be to look at current LEGAL immigration backlog and allow for there to be an allotment for their processing.  Example 5m.  Then agree on an estimate for potential Z applicants. Example 12m.  Then reach a consensus of expected labor sector needs for REAL shortfall during next 24 years (time needed to fully educate a generation) Example 300,000. 

You would see there is an expected 7.2m shortfall in labor needs.  There are 5m legal immigrants in line.  Subtract the number of non-labor eligible aplicants Example 1m.  Therefore, after current legal immigration is processed there is expected to be a 3.2m shortfall in labor needs. 

Offer 3.2m single person and/or Head of Household Z visa applications. First Come - First Served.  EVERYONE ELSE GOES HOME, PERIOD.  Z visa applications would be granted on a 1 applicant per 1 illegal removed basis.  This would encourage those supporting the Z visa process to push enforcement measures forward.  All Z visa applicants would be given bio-metric identification cards.  Employers hiring non-citizens and non-legalized aliens would be subject to fines of 100,000 per illegal employee per year or fraction thereof employed.  To bring this into effect employment law would be changed to allow employers to require DEPT OF LABOR worker ID cards from any employee regardless of reason why.  100% employer jeopardy, joint and several so contracting out work does not allow an escape of liability; HELLO Wal Mart. 

If Legal Immigration levels are approximately 1m per year and there are 8m plus immigrants gaining legalized status then place a freeze on immigration for the next 8yrs so that they can be assimilated.  During the next 8yrs the nation and Congress would be able to determine how to best go forward and reform the immigration process if needed. 

This approach would fully honor the LEGAL IMMIGRATION PROCESS, bring 3.2m plus illegal aliens out of the shadows.  Eliminate the inducement and put the enforcement driver in place and allow the nation to determine where we are really at, what is really needed and what is best to do in a way that satisfies our rule of law and constitution which is ultimately the greatest advantage we have traditionally had over the rest of the world. 

Now, to be frank I could care less what the high tech industry wants or that matter what any other industry wants.  I am sick of hearing leaders in that industry go overboard about education and then not hire students that are educated or layoff and outsource those already employed.  They are just whoring the issue for their short term bottom line and are disingenuous at best. 

What is best for the country is what matters.  Therefore, to encourage increased education levels we need to begin FAIR TRADE instead of FREE TRADE policies. 

In every industry, such as high tech we need to determine cost of production based on our dollar value.  Then impose an equalization tariff so that American manufacturers have a chance to genuinely compete by manufacturing in America.  All proceeds from tariff collection will be earmarked 100% for workforce education and secondary education expenses.  Applicants for such funds would compete for them based on standardized testing scores regardless of financial means.  The point is to ensure that those in or to join the American workforce who are most capable will have the educational resources to satisfy the requirements and needs of employers.  Employers seeking foreign workers would pay the full prevailing wage plus a 10% premium with the premium being forfited to the aforementioned education fund.  Therefore, employers would be encouraged to develop AMERICAN talent. 

Couple that approach with the removal of all input taxation for exported goods and services and American manufacturing would be back in business.  Employers would mentor employees to the next level because they would really need them etc. 

This is not difficult if you are PRO AMERICAN anti special interest, anti free trade,

PRO AMERICA,

SovereignMan

SovereignMan, You have a workable plan, I would vote for anyone who would introduce it, in the political forum. Excellent thinking is hard to find, on these matters of trade, and a real solution to our countries dilemma, however for one to explain that to Washington would be a practic in futility. They are owned and operated by Global interest, therefore we need a clean sweep of Washington, and elect real Americans in their place.

algebra said: SovereignMan, You have a workable plan, I would vote for anyone who would introduce it, in the political forum. Excellent thinking is hard to find, on these matters of trade, and a real solution to our countries dilemma, however for one to explain that to Washington would be a practic in futility. They are owned and operated by Global interest, therefore we need a clean sweep of Washington, and elect real Americans in their place.

 

Thanks for the acknowledgement. 

Actually, I hate to write so much at times but I suppose it keeps me from blowing a fuse because it takes my mind off of what is happening in Washington. 

Hopefully legislation and corporate lobbying in D.C. will fail and the local and state governments will keep making headway until the point is reached where much of the benefit for illegal aliens is dimininshed and the Federal Government falls back in line.  A strong Border Security, America First President along with a solid Congressional purge would be a beautiful thing.

Pro-America,

SovereignMan

siberian23 - I used to be a Democrat and yes this issue is being touted as a right wing Republican Conservative issue, but I can tell you I know of very few Democrat's that agree with amnesty and no border control.

I am now an Independent, because I think most of the Democrat's would gladly sell me off as a vote if they thought they could win millions of illegals votes instantly by making them US citizens.

I never thought my country, would sell me out for illegals from another country, but it is happening right before my eyes.

Siberian posts: "I am a liberal on most political issues and for me posting in this forum is close to a form of sacrilege. ... This is a socialist central planning approach that has been discredited by history and practice..."

Not a typical liberal.  Sounds like there is hope for you.  ;)

 

Liberalism is a mental disorder - Michael Savage

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With very few, if any exceptions, I do not believe any one currently in office will vote for America - they are all corrupted by the globalists.  They all need to be voted out of office and only those who take a pledge to reinstate FAIR TRADE and assimilation policies voted into office.  Once they ARE in office, we need to continue to have our voices heard and hold them accountable.

siberian23 said "I am a liberal on most political issues and for me posting in this forum is close to a form of scarilege. However, on the issue of the immigration "grand bargain"  I find myself in despair at the blindness of its supporters."

This is exactly why I think voters are going to vote Republican in 2008 and shock the world.  That is, if the nominee is Ron Paul or someone like minded.  If not, we haven't a chance.

The list is indeed small and the mountain is unbelievably high, but I would include Huckabee and Tancredo as unlikely underdogs who may end up surprising the world.

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Siberian23,

    I think conservatives, liberals, Dems, Repubs,Independents, Reformist, and anyone who calls themselves an American, are dead set against this bill...most anyway...it's nice to see we're not so different after all...I'm a registered Reformist...which now I would call myself a nonconformist (especially with this bill). We need to make sure when we vote in 2008 to place the next leader of the free world in a position who will wield that much power, that they're going to do the right thing for Americans, it doesn't matter what party they call themselves, just so they represent US!

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