Forging an American Immigration Policy for the 21st Century
We need to be careful to not let this debate be defined by its extremes or by the theater that it naturally generates.
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Many Americans hold dear our identity as a “nation of immigrants” and the “land of opportunity.” But our immigration processes are convoluted, backlogged, and choked with would-be Americans desperate for a better life — while roughly 70 percent of US voters are opposed to increasing legal immigration levels. How should we decide who can come? Could our system be more responsive to a changing economy and set new immigrants up for long-term success? What are the social and economic costs? Do we still aspire to be a “nation of immigrants” and the “land of opportunity” — and if so, what do we want the phrases to mean in our collective future?
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