[miami_fan]

Throughout out this most recent exchange, we've been talking about illegals (11M+) AND legal immigration. You are right, when I used the term "political will", it was in reference to legal immigration.

However, in a prior passage, I said below in reference to illegal immigration ...

Well I am discussing political will in regards to legal immigration. I will leave the illegal immigration discussion for anyone else.

Originally Posted by Edward64

But to your question on specifically increasing employment visas .... good question, let me know when the Dems produce an immigration bill with that only one proposal on increasing employment visas?

You won't find it. And we know why. Politics is much more complicated than that. With broader immigration reform or even one that is primarily focused on border security, there are many other points/proposals to consider which results in needed negotiations and ultimately, compromise.

You are correct. Nothing that just involves employment based visas but...

What Happened To The Bills On Employment-Based Immigration?

Introduction

In February 2021, the U.S. Citizenship Act (H.R. 1177), developed by the Biden administration, was introduced in Congress (Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38] (Introduced 02/18/2021)). The bill contained many immigration provisions and would have put an end to the employment-based immigrant backlog within 10 years. It included a higher annual green card limit, eliminated the per-country limit, provided permanent residence for those waiting with an approved immigrant petition for 10 years and excluded dependents from being counted against the annual limit. (See here.) It also would have exempted individuals with Ph.D.s in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields from numerical limits.

Execution

Due to GOP opposition and the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate, the U.S. Citizenship Act turned out to be a messaging or placeholder bill that did not move in Congress. To obtain green card relief, a different measure would need to become law.

Introduction

The best opportunity for employment-based immigration looked like legislation aimed at enhancing U.S. competitiveness in semiconductors. On February 4, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the America COMPETES Act 222 to 210. The bill contained several immigration provisions but garnered only one Republican vote. In June 2021, the Senate passed a similar bill without any immigration measures.

The House bill created an exemption from annual green card limits and backlogs for foreign nationals with a Ph.D. in STEM fields and those with a master’s degree “in a critical industry,” such as semiconductors. The bill also included Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA) LIKE Act to give foreign-born entrepreneurs an opportunity to earn lawful permanent residence. A recent NFAP report on immigrant founders of billion-dollar companies concluded many innovations only become useful through entrepreneurship.

During a House-Senate conference committee, Rep. Lofgren urged the Senate to accept the House’s immigrant measures. The Biden administration, businesses and universities wanted to see, at minimum, the exemption for individuals with Ph.D.s in STEM fields become law.

The exemption for STEM Ph.D.s was likely doomed the moment Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) appointed Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) to the bill’s conference committee. McConnell gave Grassley, the ranking Republican member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, a veto, in effect, over any immigration provision. Over several months, he exercised that veto and no group of Senate Republicans stepped forward to prevent it.

In June 2022, Grassley asserted he was against including immigration measures in a non-immigration bill. Critics pointed out Grassley had no problem, indeed lauded, including a restrictive measure on EB-5 immigrant investor visas in a non-immigration bill only a few months earlier (March 2022). It appeared evident that Grassley opposed any liberalization of U.S. immigration laws, no matter how beneficial economists and others believed a specific provision would be for the country and claimed a procedural reason.

Senate Democrats approached Grassley with iterations of the Ph.D. STEM provision, but he refused to budge, according to sources. He did not vote for final passage or the motion to proceed to the bill on the Senate floor (a 64 to 34 vote) but got his way on the legislation. The final bill included no measures to exempt Ph.D.s in STEM fields from green card limits or any other significant positive immigration provision. (The legislation was H.R. 4346, renamed the CHIPS Act of 2022.)

House and Senate Democrats and the Biden administration have supported or proposed several bills and measures to reduce the employment-based green card backlogs and exempt highly skilled foreign nationals from immigration quotas. Senate Democrats did not sacrifice a chance to pass the CHIPS Act after Sen. Grassley opposed including a STEM Ph.D. exemption.

Republicans in Congress in a position to influence legislative outcomes are now opposing any positive measures on legal immigration. As one executive of a leading technology company told me, “If there are people in Congress who aren’t going to support more green cards for Ph.D.s in STEM fields, what will they support?”

...the leftist mouthpiece that is Forbes Magazine, seems to think that there was a chance to improve legal employment based immigration and well I will let the last paragraph speak for itself.

But so what? If Denmark was racist, the world/we can find common ground and condemn Denmark. But if Denmark is not racist, then name me one country that is not prejudicial/bigoted against one group of people or another re: immigration?

You want us to go back to doing stuff like this?!

The U.S. Government Turned Away Thousands of Jewish Refugees, Fearing That They Were Nazi Spies | Smithsonian

What is your point of bringing it up (e.g. the 2 negative anti-refugee statements from Danish politics)?

The statements provided a line of reasoning for what the Danes have chosen to do for their country that was based on their more homogeneous population and their values. I don't believe those lines of reasoning fit with our more diverse population and our values. Because I don't think they fit with our more diverse population and our values, I don't think the U.S. should be role modeling these policies or use these countries as a example for us to do the same here.

Here's my rationale ...

1) Currently, the US does NOT support citizenship for whoever wants it (legal or illegal)
2) As President miami_fan/passacaglia, you support citizenship for whoever wants it (legal or illegal)
3) Therefore, for this to happen, you would need to "opening up US immigration laws".

Question - if 1-2 is true, but you say 3 is not true, then how else would giving "citizenship for whoever wants it" happen?

Can you please explain what you mean when you say "the US does not support citizenship?" Maybe that is what is not clear. Do you mean if I support the government handing out certificates of naturalization as people cross the border or move through customs and not after going through the steps of naturalization? If that is what you are talking about, then no I don't support that. But I am not making it impossible for someone to go through those steps just because. And neither does the US government.

Not everyone but majority. Other than for tourism, seems pretty logical assumption to me under current circumstances, it's Occam's Razor. There are so many benefits to having it (and US allows dual citizenship). And even more so, if President miami_fan was to support anyone (legal, illegal, all over the world) who wants it to become a US citizen.

And yet the number is the number. But let's say that is the case. Why are you suggesting that we need to stop allowing people to become U.S. citizens in FY 26, FY36 etc. That is the American dream.

Although not apples-to-apples (5+ year wait complicates the calculus), seems to be a pretty high conversion rate to me if taken at face value.

So yeah, there are many impediments to citizenship (5 years in the US, backlogs, maybe lose home passport because no dual citizenship, lack of language skills etc.) but make it more easy for them, IMO even more permanent residents will want convert to citizens.

Those are not impediments, those are requirements. The requirements for citizenship. If a person is a LPR, wants to become a citizen, and fulfills the requirements just like EVERYONE ELSE has for x number of years, no one should be putting another layer of requirements or putting any more barriers in place to prevent that. We've done that shameful BS already.

I agree with all of that except the bolded. It seems you are okay with anyone going through the legal process to become PR and citizen. I'm good with that, that's what I want.

To be clear, you are saying you would let anyone come to the US, stay, work etc? Or are you saying only those that go through the legal process of getting a work visa? Because if its the former, then you are definitely "opening up US immigration laws".

I am only talking about the legal process. I will only ever talk about the legal process. I am saying that I will let ANYONE that goes through the legal process in place to immigrate to the US. I also believe that if we actually opened up the immigration laws(not open borders) to make the immigration process less nonsensical, we as a country would be better off.

So I take it you won't attempt to answer the question below?

Similar question to you: how would you handle the 158M+ (and the 11M+ illegal) adults that want to immigrate? or (newly added) ... anyone if they want to just live/work here without becoming a citizen

I have already spoken on the 11M+ that are here but I can do it again. Actually I will engage in some bipartisanship myself and let someone I don't usually see eye to eye with make the case.

- YouTube


The 158M+ that want to immigrate would be handled just like everyone. If we maintain the pace of calendar year 2023 of 1.6 million legal immigrants, it will be another 98.75 years before they all get here.