President Donald trump on Wednesday approved a sharp reduction in legal immigration to the United States. The bill was initiated by Senate Republicans David Perdue and Tom Cotton. In accordance with the document, legal immigration should be halved. While currently used approaches based on employment «will now be replaced with a system based on qualifications». This means that the new immigration rules will give preference to those who are fluent in English and has good references from their previously high-paying positions is qualified for the job. As for low-skilled workers, their immigration to the United States will be limited.
Moreover, in accordance with the bill, a residence permit in the U.S. will be able to only close relatives of immigrants – spouses and minor children. In that time, more distant relatives and adult children can’t count on moving to America.
Immigration will not go down simultaneously, the program is designed for 10 years. Immigration reform based on taking a model already successfully used in Canada and Australia, and aims to create more favorable competitive conditions in the labor market for Americans.
The most critical issue raised in the new bill, was the abolition of the Green Card lottery, which in the U.S. annually, moving more than 500,000 foreigners. Obtaining green cards under the new rules will be based on point system, under which will be evaluated the knowledge of the applicant for the receipt of the English language, the presence of a sought-after business skills, the ability to support yourself financially and support a family, etc.
Experts in eager rivalry declare the new immigration policy introduced by the bill will be «a big mistake». According to a survey by the Washington Post, conducted in July among 18 leading economists of the country, 89% of them believe that such measures will significantly slow the country’s economic growth. In other words, the reform will lead to the opposite result from the planned White House. Even earlier, in April, more than 1,400 economists sent the President a letter, which also asked him not to reduce legal immigration.
Today the unemployment rate in the U.S. is at a minimum and is 4.4%. The number of jobs in the country is 5.7 million. Representatives of business argue that it is very difficult to find employees for low-skilled and highly-skilled jobs. It is on this fact and pay attention to the experts. With the reduction of legal immigration, a greater number of Americans will not be employed in low-paying jobs, there will be a deficit, which will inevitably lead to a slowing down of the economy. Previously, the deficit successfully covered at the expense of immigrants, but now the problem will remain unresolved.
