Archives for Immigration

Most of the immigration rhetoric in Washington D.C. concerns ways to stem the tide of undocumented workers. By contrast, the guest worker program receives much less press, affects fewer workers, but also has enormous economic consequences for the country.

Reforming the broken H-1B program is a priority for both parties. According to today’s Washington Post, “Republicans, with the White House’s backing, are proposing a three-year temporary-worker program that would allow 400,000 new workers to enter the country each year, provided they return to their home countries once their visas expire. A much smaller number, perhaps 20,000, would be able to apply for a work visa that could lead to legal permanent residency.”

Consensus is building for a significant policy shift under which for the first time an immigrant’s job skills will count more than their family ties in determining who is welcome.

A bipartisan committee that includes Bush officials, Democrats and Republicans met several times in recent months to hammer out a possible compromise with enough support to pass this year. According to CBS News, one idea that these strange bedfellows seem to agree upon is this: “A merit system similar to Canada’s under which immigrants would earn points toward citizenship. Points would be granted for things like work skills and language ability.”

It’s clear the politicians are collaborating in order to achieve a more defensible position come election time in 2008. The compromise ideas that have been discussed all seem to hinge upon “securing” the U.S.-Mexico border before moving forward with other promised reforms. But securing the border may prove to be next to impossible.

Is this just more political gamesmanship or will we see meaningful reform in this pre-election year? What would you like to see done, if anything, to help reform guest worker programs?