Immigration Article of the Day: America’s Incoherent Immigration System by Stuart Anderson

America’s Incoherent Immigration Systemby Stuart Anderson National Foundation for American PolicyJanuary 1, 2012Cato Journal, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2012

Abstract: If the U.S. Congress and executive branch agencies formulated coherent policies, then here is what our immigration system would look like: highly skilled foreign nationals could be hired quickly and gain permanent residence, employers could hire foreign workers to fill niches in lower-skilled jobs, foreign entrepreneurs could easily start businesses in the United States, and close relatives of American citizens could immigrate in a short period of time. If all those things were true, then we wouldn’t be talking about America’s immigration system.Many myths dominate perceptions about immigration. Perhaps the most common myth is that it’s easy to immigrate to America. Often when discussing illegal immigration, a TV commentator will say, “Well, they should just leave the country and come back in legally.” An astute viewer would ask themselves: “If it was that easy, then why would they have risked their lives crossing that desert in the first place?” In fact, as will be discussed, while immigrating legally in highskilled fields, as an entrepreneur, or as a family member is not easy, it is particularly difficult to obtain a legal visa for “lower-skilled” jobs.

KJ