What is our current immigration policy concerning workers that want to come to the USA? Should we have an immigration policy that prefers skilled workers over nonskilled workers or is that Un-American?
The United State is considered a country of immigrants, as European settlers moved (willingly\unwillingly), in different intervals to this part of the world to start a new life and exploit the opportunities that the United States had to offer. From the study of the American history, we learn that the early settlers were predominantly Europeans, which came from different countries of that continent. Therefore, in colonial America, there existed a diversity of cultures; the work environment was highly productive, which played a major part in the Industrialization of the United States (Preceden, 2018).
From the study, it is also apparent that immigrants have come to the United States in waves. The first major wave of immigration appeared during the colonial era. After that, during the various periods of time, the United States has experienced several waves. It is also apparent that early waves immigration, experienced by the United States, were of Europeans; however, for the last three decades, most of the immigrants, who have come to the US, are of Asian and Latin American origin (Preceden, 2018).
Since the Great Recession, caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the right-wing political parties and have started very propaganda against immigrants and the immigration policy of the United States. These right-wing parties are of the view that immigrants steal employment and because of their presence, the supply of labor has expanded, causing a decline in nominal wages. This propaganda was so effective that it helped President Donald Trump win the presidential election. The current US policy, about immigration, is very strict. The vetting process, which has been developed for the United States’ visa/immigration applicants, is very strict and it seems that it is designed to discourage them (Meckler, 2017).
The United States has long been a destination of the most skilled labor in the world. It is because the United States offers one of the best economic opportunities to international labor, both skilled and non-skilled. The United States industry and service sector are highly mature, which regularly yields employment with large salaries. Also, the United States offers freedom and an adequate justice system, which is a rarity in other parts of the world. Therefore, it is natural that skilled and non-skilled labor intends to migrate to the United States (Preceden, 2018).
From the purely economic point of view, this supply of both skilled and non-skilled labor has great importance for American industries. The skilled labor, which is of high value, not only adds value to the final product, but also reduces the cost of production to an extent. Also, because of skilled immigrants, the supply of skilled labor shifts to the right, which reduced nominal wages and thus the cost of production. It makes American products and services more competitive in international markets. The non-skilled labor also has a use in the economy, as with time this labor specializes and increases production and value of the product or services by investing labor but in a very precise and skillful manner. The only issue right-wing political parties and media has is that because of a greater supply of labor, nominal wages decrease (Meckler, 2017).
This decrease in nominal wage does not affect real wages in long-run, as because of a decrease in cost of production, prices of goods and services also dwindle. Therefore, the Trump Administration’s policy of preference of skilled labor over non-skilled is flawed. In fact, it is believed that Trump Administration desires to import labor from particular countries (European). We have to admit that this discrimination, which is evident in Trump Administration’s visa/immigration policy, is quite un-American & it betrays United States history, culture, and policy regarding immigration and immigrants (Meckler, 2017).
References
Meckler, L. (2017, November 19). Trump Administration Tightens Scrutiny of Skilled Worker Visa Applicants. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-tightens-scrutiny-of-skilled-worker-visa-applicants-1511114338
Preceden. (2018, January 1). Waves of Immigration In America. Retrieved from https://www.preceden.com/timelines/29989-waves-of-immigration-in-america
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