Why The United States Should Treat Immigration like A Job Interview
During a recent debate between Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Cory Booker accused former vice president Joe Biden of pitting immigrants against each other when Biden had the temerity to suggest that we give priority to immigrants with PhDs. I suspect, however, that Biden aptly views immigration policy as zero-sum; it’s about choosing the best applicants for a finite number of very valuable positions. That’s certainly my view.
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Charity to foreigners may be all well and good, but it’s not the role of our government to force it on taxpayers. Individuals can decide whether they want to contribute their time or money to organizations such as Doctors Without Borders without government compulsion. Taxpayers don’t need lay priests mandating what amounts to de facto secular international tithing.
We Must End ‘Chain Migration’ and the Diversity Lottery
It follows that we should abandon chain migration (also known as family reunification) as well as the diversity visa lottery. Under chain migration, those who already immigrated to the United States can put their family members ahead of others seeking entrance. The last in the door shouldn’t get to man the gate.
The diversity visa lottery is even more baffling. Its entire premise is based on the notion that we need certain levels of immigrants based on national origin—which is both ridiculous and racist. We should judge immigrants on the factors described above, not in which country they happened to be born.
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Ultimately, even refugee considerations should inevitably be limited by practical realities. To paraphrase Justice Jackson: our freedom-loving values aren’t a suicide pact.
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Charity to foreigners may be all well and good, but it’s not the role of our government to force it on taxpayers. Individuals can decide whether they want to contribute their time or money to organizations such as Doctors Without Borders without government compulsion. Taxpayers don’t need lay priests mandating what amounts to de facto secular international tithing.
We Must End ‘Chain Migration’ and the Diversity Lottery
It follows that we should abandon chain migration (also known as family reunification) as well as the diversity visa lottery. Under chain migration, those who already immigrated to the United States can put their family members ahead of others seeking entrance. The last in the door shouldn’t get to man the gate.
The diversity visa lottery is even more baffling. Its entire premise is based on the notion that we need certain levels of immigrants based on national origin—which is both ridiculous and racist. We should judge immigrants on the factors described above, not in which country they happened to be born.
...
Ultimately, even refugee considerations should inevitably be limited by practical realities. To paraphrase Justice Jackson: our freedom-loving values aren’t a suicide pact.