21世纪的12种新移民理念_58页_4mb

12 New Immigration Reform Ideas for the 21st Century Summary

Core Content

This document presents 12 new ideas for immigration reform aimed at improving the U.S. immigration system to better align with the needs of the modern economy. The proposals are designed to liberalize legal immigration, reduce wait times, and introduce innovative mechanisms for selecting and managing immigrants. The authors, including policy analysts, economists, and political scientists, emphasize the need for more flexible, data-driven, and economically rational immigration policies.

Main Viewpoints

• Legal immigration is the most important component of long-term reform. It is seen as a way to secure the border and promote economic prosperity by offering legal pathways for both temporary and permanent immigration.
• Current visa caps are outdated and inflexible, leading to a mismatch between the labor market's needs and the number of visas available. These caps were set in 1990 and have not kept pace with economic growth and job creation.
• Immigration reform must be innovative and bipartisan, moving beyond traditional approaches that have failed to pass due to political resistance.
• Empowering local and state governments, as well as using market-based mechanisms, could help address the limitations of the federal system and provide more tailored solutions to immigration challenges.

Key Ideas and Proposals

1. Automatic Adjustment of Visa Caps

• Proposed mechanism: A legal "escalator" system that adjusts the number of H-1B visas and employment-based green cards based on labor market growth.
• Benchmarking: Use subsectors of the labor market, such as "professional and technical services" and computer systems design, as proxies for demand.
• Benefits: Aligns visa availability with economic needs, reduces long-term mismatch, and avoids political gridlock.
• Implementation: Adjust visa numbers annually based on BLS data, with unused visas carried over to the next year.

2. Reducing Long Wait Times

• Proposed maximum wait times:
  • 5 years for employment-based immigrants.
  • 10 years for family-sponsored immigrants.
• Current problem: Visa categories have annual limits that create long backlogs, especially for skilled and family-sponsored immigrants.
• Examples from other countries:
  • Australia: 2 years for employer-sponsored immigrants.
  • Canada: 1–2 years under the Express Entry system.
  • Germany: 21–33 months for EU blue card holders.
  • UK, France, Switzerland: 5 years for temporary workers.

3. U.S.-Mexican Bilateral Worker Agreement (BWA)

• Goal: Create a mutually beneficial agreement with Mexico to manage migration and reduce illegal immigration.
• Components: Reciprocity in work authorization, limited access to welfare, and cooperation between both countries.
• Benefits: Reduces illegal immigration, improves economic productivity, and fosters better labor market integration.

4. U.S.-Canadian Bilateral Labor Agreement (BLA)

• Inspiration: Lessons from the Schengen Agreement and survey data showing public support for such a model.
• Features: Reciprocity, streamlined work authorization, and limited welfare access.
• Conclusion: A BLA could improve labor mobility and reduce the need for restrictive immigration policies.

5. State-Sponsored Visas

• Proposal: Allow state governments to sponsor immigrants based on local economic needs.
• Examples:
  • David Bier suggests state-based visa systems.
  • Jack Graham and Rebekah Smith propose a local sponsorship model with private partners.
• Benefits: Enables more tailored immigration policies, engages state governments in reform, and meets local labor demands.

6. Community Visa

• Concept: A local solution to national immigration gridlock.
• Components:
  • Community Fund to support local integration.
  • Social anchors to promote community cohesion.
  • Empowerment of local governments.
• Goal: Create a system that allows communities to decide on immigration needs and benefits.

7. Congressional Earmarks for Immigration

• Proposal: A "Congressional Green Card Nomination Program" where members of Congress can sponsor 100 immigrants for permanent residence.
• Benefits:
  • Direct benefits to constituents.
  • Indirect benefits by increasing support for immigration reform.
• Goal: Build a broader political constituency for immigration reform.

8. Immigration Moneyball

• Concept: A system where employers and the government select immigrants based on their potential economic contributions.
• Function: Employers pay a premium for hiring foreign workers, and the government uses this data to allocate visas.
• Goal: Create a more efficient and merit-based immigration system.

9. Immigration Designed to Enhance American Lives (IDEAL)

• 10 Planks:
  • Remove employment-based visa caps.
  • Increase the number of visas for skilled workers.
  • Create a merit-based system for selecting immigrants.
  • Introduce a system where immigrants pay a tax to support the system.
  • Allow transferable citizenship to increase the value of U.S. citizenship.

10. Don't Restrict Immigration, Tax It (DRITI)

• Proposal: Tax immigrants instead of restricting them.
• Impact: Could increase the number of immigrants while generating revenue for the government.
• Objections Addressed: Concerns about fiscal burden and economic impact are mitigated by the tax system.
• Conclusion: A market-based approach could be more effective than traditional restrictions.

11. Prediction Markets for Immigration Selection

• Concept: Use prediction markets to determine which immigrants are most likely to succeed in the U.S.
• Mechanism: Public bets on immigrant success based on measurable criteria like fiscal impact.
• Benefits: More accurate selection, increased transparency, and market-driven decision-making.

12. Transferable Citizenship

• Proposal: Allow U.S. citizens to sell or lease their citizenship to noncitizens.
• Goal: Monetize the value of U.S. citizenship and create a more dynamic immigration system.
• Benefits: Encourages voluntary immigration, increases the value of citizenship, and provides an alternative to traditional immigration quotas.

Conclusion

The document argues that the current immigration system is not responsive to the evolving U.S. economy and that comprehensive reform is necessary. It advocates for a mix of policy innovations, including automatic visa adjustments, reduced wait times, bilateral agreements, and market-based mechanisms. The authors believe that these ideas could help create a more flexible, efficient, and economically beneficial immigration system.