Canadian Immigration Policies Far Superior to the US
I've said that the US needs a comprehensive immigration point system like they have in Canada. This idea is especially important when both political parties are barking up the wrong tree when it comes to immigration reform.
Twenty first century America mostly needs highly qualified and highly skilled people to better compete in the world economy. Don't you think America should be targeting and granting visas for the best qualified people?
Undocumented psersons from Mexico and Central America are generally low-skill, poorly-educated persons that bring little to offer the US in the 21st century. These people, who come here legally or illegally, are barely 'making it' in this country and bring little to offer in terms of skills that we need. We already have plenty of poorly educated and low skilled people! The Obama economy is not creating low level jobs and leaving many young people shut out of the job market. Sadly, even the few college educated illegal (or otherwise) immigrants from Mexico and Central America will find few opportunities in this economy thanks to numerous other failed policies of our current regime.
The Democrats are ever so eager to give amnesty to 11 million illegal or undocumented Latinos but continue to ignore (or pay lip service to) tighter border enforcement and/or stymie any effort that allows local law enforcement to check immigration status. In this way, the government, for decades, has been sending a signal to would-be illegals that we are "soft" on enforcement. In essence, the US government has been encouraging illegal immigration, wink-wink. That could change overnight if we started checking status.
It's time to let all potential immigrants apply to an objective ranking system like the one in Canada.
Adopt the Canadian-Style Immigration Point System
Here's a great article on the effectiveness of an immigration point system in Canada. We should adopt their system. Canada is the only country in the Western world that is not royally screwing-up their public policies. We have a lot to learn from them, including the way they handle immigration. From Market Watch:
[Canada's] corporate tax rate, at 15%, is less than half the U.S. rate. Its debt is 35% of GDP, instead of the U.S. rate of 73%. But where Canada really shines in comparison to the United States is in its immigration policy.
Consider the simplicity of the Canadian immigration system. To enter Canada through its federal skilled worker program, applicants are ranked on a points system. One hundred points are possible, and 67 are required to get an entry visa. Included are English and French language skills (28 possible points), education (25 points), experience (15 points), adaptability (10 points), age (12 points), and job offers (10 points).
In contrast, U.S. H-1B temporary visas for new skilled immigrant workers, limited at 85,000 annually, do not meet demand. Acquiring permanent residency (a “green card”) is a lengthy and potentially costly process. Talented immigrants, such as the 51% of engineering doctorate earners and the 41% of physical sciences doctorate earners who are foreign-born, are frequently forced to leave the United States. Many come to Canada.
H-1B visa applications can be filed on April 1 of each year. In 2013, the cap was reached within the first week of the filing period. In 1999, Congress temporarily raised the quota to 115,000, and again to 195,000 in 2001, a number that did not exceed demand, but the quota reverted to 65,000 (plus 20,000 awarded for recipients of U.S. advanced degrees) in 2004
In nearly every way, US government oversight and policies are not working well for this country. There is a severe lack of intellectual capability at the Federal level of government. Any rational change appears impossible. Sadly, a point system for immigration is entirely too logical, effective and objective for our idiot-liar leaders.