Grads Preferred to Grandmas in Proposed U.S. Immigration Bill (Reuters)
Senior Fellow Michael Clemens is quoted in a Reuters article on the economic need for immigration.
U.S. immigration authorities would give preference to better-educated and trained visa-seekers who can contribute to the American economy under a less-noticed provision of the immigration bill in the U.S. Congress.
The bi-partisan bill in the U.S. Senate would rewrite the half-century-old standards that control legal immigration to favor skills over family ties.
The winners of this proposed "merit-based" system, experts say, would be primarily from Asia, particularly from India, China and the Philippines, whose citizens are more likely to have attended college or have on-the-job training in skilled occupations such as engineering and technology. The losers are likely to be Mexicans and Central Americans.
The new system, long advocated by economists and politicians who believe the main purpose of immigration laws should be to serve economic growth, would replace one geared mainly to reuniting families.
By 2020, the U.S. economy will need at least three million additional workers to care for the elderly, do construction jobs, and prepare food, among other lower-skilled jobs, according to data from the Department of Labor.
As the U.S. population ages, demand for home health and personal care aides is expected to increase considerably, the department said in its occupational outlook.
"The number of authorized migration slots doesn't come close to meeting the needs of the economy," said Michael Clemens, an economist and senior fellow with the Center for Global Development think tank. "Employers will once again be forced to resort to black-market employment to fuel the economy."
