complete joke. It assumes, among other things, that illegal workers keep their money here in America. But they donât. In 2006, 73 percent of Latino immigrants regularly sent money back to their home countries, amounting to $45 billion. For countries like Mexico, illegal immigrants in the United States are a cash cow. In fact, Mexicoâs second biggest source of foreign income, just behind oil exports, comes fromâyou guessed itâremittances from illegal aliens. In 2008, Mexico got $25.1 billion in money sent back home. Remittances have skyrocketed over the last decade. They went from $9 billion in 2001 to $26 billion in 2007. 19 Thatâs money that American workers could be earning, saving, and spending here in the United States.
So what to do?
Reform Our Illegal Immigration System
Before I lay out what needs to be done to get our illegal immigration mess fixed, itâs worth first discussing what America needs to do with our legal immigration system. It, too, is backwards and in need of a total
overhaul. Thankfully, our neighbors to the north, Canada, have a smart, merit-based plan that America should adopt.
Canadaâs legal immigration plan starts with a simple and smart question: How will any immigrant applying for citizenship âsupport the development of a strong, prosperous Canadian economyâ? Economic benefit should be our chief aim. America doesnât need freeloaders who come here to live off our welfare system. We need legal immigrants who bring skills, prosperity, and intellectual capital. In Canada, aliens applying for permanent residence are awarded points based on their skills and how they will benefit the Canadian economy. Only 40 percent of the overall determination on whether permanent residence will be granted depends on family relationships or refugee status. The remaining 60 percent of the decision hinges on how the immigrant will add value to Canadaâs economy. Our system is almost exactly the opposite. In fact, itâs worse. Seventy percent of the one million permanent resident admissions the United States grants every year are based on family relations. Only 13 percent depend on employment (the remainder are for refugees and diversity visas). 20 This makes no sense whatsoever.
For a Canadian applicant to be considered for permanent residency, he must score a minimum of 67 points out of 100. He must also have a minimum of one year of full-time work experience in a desired skill area within the last ten years. The better the immigrantâs attributes, the higher the score. If the alien doesnât earn 67 points and is serious about wanting to live in Canada, he can work on developing his marketable skills until he does qualify. For example, if the applicant isnât a college graduate, he can
go home, get a college degree, and add 25 points to his total and reapply. As a result, roughly half of Canadaâs immigrants have a bachelorâs degree. 21
Canadaâs legal immigration system also requires that before an immigrant qualifies for Canadaâs equivalent of Social Security, he has to have been resident in the country for at least ten of his adult years. In America, we only require five years. 22
Work Visas
Our countryâs leaders are just so plain stupid. As an example, foreign students come over to our colleges, learn everything there is to learn about physics, finance, mathematics, and computers, and graduate with honors. They would love to stay in this country, but we donât allow them to. We immediately ship them back to their country to use all of the knowledge they learned at the best colleges in the United States back in their country rather than keep it here in ours.
When we have gifted people in this country we should cherish them and let them stay. But instead we fling our arms wide open to the lowlifes, the criminals, the people who have no intention to contribute to our country. We spend billions of dollars taking care
So what to do?
Reform Our Illegal Immigration System
Before I lay out what needs to be done to get our illegal immigration mess fixed, itâs worth first discussing what America needs to do with our legal immigration system. It, too, is backwards and in need of a total
overhaul. Thankfully, our neighbors to the north, Canada, have a smart, merit-based plan that America should adopt.
Canadaâs legal immigration plan starts with a simple and smart question: How will any immigrant applying for citizenship âsupport the development of a strong, prosperous Canadian economyâ? Economic benefit should be our chief aim. America doesnât need freeloaders who come here to live off our welfare system. We need legal immigrants who bring skills, prosperity, and intellectual capital. In Canada, aliens applying for permanent residence are awarded points based on their skills and how they will benefit the Canadian economy. Only 40 percent of the overall determination on whether permanent residence will be granted depends on family relationships or refugee status. The remaining 60 percent of the decision hinges on how the immigrant will add value to Canadaâs economy. Our system is almost exactly the opposite. In fact, itâs worse. Seventy percent of the one million permanent resident admissions the United States grants every year are based on family relations. Only 13 percent depend on employment (the remainder are for refugees and diversity visas). 20 This makes no sense whatsoever.
For a Canadian applicant to be considered for permanent residency, he must score a minimum of 67 points out of 100. He must also have a minimum of one year of full-time work experience in a desired skill area within the last ten years. The better the immigrantâs attributes, the higher the score. If the alien doesnât earn 67 points and is serious about wanting to live in Canada, he can work on developing his marketable skills until he does qualify. For example, if the applicant isnât a college graduate, he can
go home, get a college degree, and add 25 points to his total and reapply. As a result, roughly half of Canadaâs immigrants have a bachelorâs degree. 21
Canadaâs legal immigration system also requires that before an immigrant qualifies for Canadaâs equivalent of Social Security, he has to have been resident in the country for at least ten of his adult years. In America, we only require five years. 22
Work Visas
Our countryâs leaders are just so plain stupid. As an example, foreign students come over to our colleges, learn everything there is to learn about physics, finance, mathematics, and computers, and graduate with honors. They would love to stay in this country, but we donât allow them to. We immediately ship them back to their country to use all of the knowledge they learned at the best colleges in the United States back in their country rather than keep it here in ours.
When we have gifted people in this country we should cherish them and let them stay. But instead we fling our arms wide open to the lowlifes, the criminals, the people who have no intention to contribute to our country. We spend billions of dollars taking care
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