Let ’s Stop Discriminating Against Immigrants From Populous Nations

Immigrants from India waiting to receive residency in the United States may die before they receive their green cards. The line is disproportionately long for Indians because the law discriminates against immigrants from populous countries, skewing the immigration flow to the benefit of immigrants from countries with fewer people. This policy —a compromise that resolved a long-dead immigration dispute—is senseless and economically damaging.In the 1920s, Congress imposed the first-ever quota on immigration, but rather than just a worldwide limit, it also distributed the numbers between countries in order to give preference to immigrants from “white” countries. In 1965, Congress repealed this system with one that allowed immigrants from any country to receive up to seven percent of the green cards issued each year. This was an improvement, but is an anachronism today and it is causing its own pointless discrimination.The per-country limits treat each nation equally, but not each immigrant equally. China receives the same treatment as Estonia, but immigrants from Estonia who apply today could receive their visas this year, while immigrants from China who apply today could have to wait a generation. It is equality in theory and inequality in practice. It is arbitrary and unfair.Immigrants should be treated as individuals, not as national representatives. As I have written before, no one actually knows for sure the waits for legal immigrants, but Stuart Anderson of the Nat...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs