The time is ripe for immigration reform, and the right way to handle it is with a comprehensive package, says former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
“Some policy makers are calling for piecemeal changes — such as issuing visas for high-skilled workers and investors, or conferring legal status on immigrants who were illegally brought into the country as children,” Bush and Clint Bolick, vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute, write in
The Wall Street Journal.
Obamacare:
Massive New Rules Revealed for 2013
“Congress should avoid such quick fixes and commit itself instead to comprehensive immigration reform.” And that doesn’t mean amnesty, the duo says.
We need immigrants to perform important jobs in the economy, as the birthrate isn’t strong enough to provide enough workers, and baby boomers are retiring, Bush and Bolick write.
“The nation needs energetic young workers to spur the economy and support an ever-increasing social-welfare burden.”
A work-based immigration system for both high-skilled and low-skilled people that includes a path to citizenship should be implemented, the pair writes. The need is particularly acute for high-skilled workers, they say.
“For most aspiring immigrants, the only means of legal admission to this country is an annual ‘diversity lottery’ that randomly awards visas to 55,000 foreigners,” Bush and Bolick write.
Obamacare:
Massive New Rules Revealed for 2013
“There are roughly 250 applicants for each visa every year. The absence of a meaningful avenue of access increases the pressure for illegal immigration.”
Nations such as Canada, New Zealand, and even China are attracting talented people with more welcoming immigration policies, they say. “If we do not adapt, we will be increasingly unable to compete.”
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