Immigration is an easy problem to solve
Because immigration is so attractive, most nations are competing to win the global talent race. Over the past 10 years, 60 percent of nations have moved to increase or maintain their immigrant intakes, especially for high-skilled immigrants.
The United States is losing this competition. We think of ourselves as an immigrant nation, but the share of our population that is foreign-born is now roughly on par with Germany and France and far below the successful immigrant nations Canada and Australia. Furthermore, our immigrants are much less skilled than the ones Canada and Australia let in. As a result, the number of high-tech immigrant start-ups has stagnated, according to the Kauffman Foundation, which studies entrepreneurship.
The first big point from all this is that given the likely gridlock on tax reform and fiscal reform, immigration reform is our best chance to increase America’s economic dynamism. We should normalize the illegals who are here, create a legal system for low-skill workers and bend the current reform proposals so they look more like the Canadian system, which tailors the immigrant intake to regional labor markets and favors high-skill workers.
The second big conclusion is that if we can’t pass a law this year, given the overwhelming strength of the evidence, then we really are a pathetic basket case of a nation.
Blowback
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Which part of “illegal” does the incredibly pedantic Mr. Brooks not get?
It’s also a shame that so many of the immigrants leave tyrannies, or semi-tyrannies behind, and then vote for Obama.
Schadenfreude on February 1, 2013 at 2:25 PM
The biggest disappointment are the economically upward mobile people from India and the rest of Asia. What incredible fools they are to vote for Obama.
The ones from India leave leprocy behind, take private flying lessons in the US and vote for Obama.
Schadenfreude on February 1, 2013 at 2:27 PM
Brooks never could see the whole picture. Comparing our share of foreign-born citizens to Canada and Australia ignores one huge fact. America’s population is a lot larger.
USA – 315,000,000
CAN – 35,000,000
AUS – 22,000,000
hawksruleva on February 1, 2013 at 2:29 PM
Brooks often seems to understand the problem at hand, but his policy prescriptions are just moronic.
ramesees on February 1, 2013 at 2:30 PM
“It’s also a shame that so many of the immigrants leave tyrannies, or semi-tyrannies behind, and then vote for Obama.”
It’s because they’re familiar with it. Freedom can be frightening.
ramesees on February 1, 2013 at 2:31 PM
Also, I wonder if the illegals currently here realize that many of them will be unemployed once amnesty hits. Once they get their not-green card, they’ll be expected to pay taxes. That means employers have to show them on the books. That means they have to get at least minimum wage. That means employers will either eliminate or shrink many of their jobs.
hawksruleva on February 1, 2013 at 2:32 PM
Does he even read what he writes?
emz35 on February 1, 2013 at 2:33 PM
Once those illegals start voting, nobody will bother to immigrate legally again, and those who sneak in won’t be doing startups.
Seth Halpern on February 1, 2013 at 2:36 PM
Just look at all the Brits and Canadians who immigrate here and then want to see gun control and NHS-style single-payer health care implemented.
Drained Brain on February 1, 2013 at 2:37 PM
“But pants creases are hard. Only Obama can do them.”
/Brooks
Bitter Clinger on February 1, 2013 at 2:38 PM
Crime.
Two Party Evil Money Cult in Washington D.C..
Two Party Evil Money Cult in Washington D.C. enabled by the likes of Mr. Brooks.
Lust:
1. Democrats for vote slaves.
2. Republicans for wage slaves.
The 1986 lie is on the books and the ongoing crimes of the open borders is there for all to see to include Mr. Brooks.
Every labor intensive contract let by any goverment, Federal, State, City, County, School Dist, Water Dist. etal goes to the low bidders.
The ones who win the low bids are the ones who use the highest numbers of illegal immigrants and pay them the least.
This keeps the elected ones from being thrown out on their ass’s because of the need to raise taxes if an American living wage were to be paid to the workers.
ID fraud.
SS fraud
Income Tas fraud
Voter fraud.
Work place standards laughed at , when an illegal gets hurt the on the job coyote overseer puts the hurt one in a pickup truck and the hurt one is let go on the Mexican side and a new one comes from a safe house near the job site.
Mexican drug gangs now run the illegal coyote border jumping operations. Illegals now have to carry the drugs on their backs into the U.S. or they do not get to come.
Fast and Furious
Brian Terry is dead.
And this Brooks Brothers wearing stooge for the RINO world looking down his nose at we real Americans who are getting hit by DWI illegals who run from the wercks thinks he can tell U.S. how the cow ate the cabbage.
Not going to go for the con Mr. Brooks etal.
We are tired of bing the “marks”.
Have a nice day,
America.
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 1, 2013 at 2:42 PM
Europe, Can/Aus and the rest of the world love to preach at America about “equality, the poor, humanity” and other bs, while they practice what serves them best.
All should go to Hades.
Still the US is foolish to allow such preaching.
Schadenfreude on February 1, 2013 at 2:44 PM
APACHEWHOKNOWS on February 1, 2013 at 2:42 PM
+1
Schadenfreude on February 1, 2013 at 2:45 PM
Stop incentivizing illegal immigration and the illegal immigration will stop. Turn off the rewards system that the corrupt elite use to promote illegal immigration and it will cease to be such a huge drain on our economy. If we could only stop the ruling class from intentionally undermining and selling out America, the vast majority of the rest of us would be far better off.
FloatingRock on February 1, 2013 at 2:48 PM
Ah, David Brooks gets his talking points from the same place as Ed Morrissey.
sauldalinsky on February 1, 2013 at 2:48 PM
Is Brooks’ beef that our legal immigrants are of lower quality? Because I bet that’s not true.
The illegals, yes. Which is, of course, everyone else’s point, and the one that Brooks can’t bring himself to face.
TexasDan on February 1, 2013 at 2:50 PM
Indeed, especially using that as a measure of “success.” UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain probably have way higher numbers; should we aspire to be like them? More people still choose the U.S.A.; immigrants don’t choose based on proportions.
calbear on February 1, 2013 at 2:53 PM
No, he just regurgitates the crap he hears his intellectual peers spewing forth at cocktail parties and museum fundraisers.
steebo77 on February 1, 2013 at 2:54 PM
It is true. Most of our legal immigrants come here through family chain migration. We need to switch to a merit-based system.
Jon0815 on February 1, 2013 at 2:57 PM
He begins by talking about how we need more high skilled immigrants instead of the low skilled ones we have, and then says we need to legalize unskilled immigrants? Hello?!
El_Terrible on February 1, 2013 at 3:06 PM
Yeah, what a surprise that non-white non-Christians feel more welcome in the Democratic party.
cam2 on February 1, 2013 at 3:10 PM
There is no such word as “Democratic” in that context – the correct modifier is “Democrat” as in “Democrat Party”.
ramesees on February 1, 2013 at 3:19 PM
Ok Mr Brooks. Let’s repeal all our immigration laws and replace them with Australia’s or Canada’s. Your choice. Deal?
Wigglesworth on February 1, 2013 at 3:23 PM
Errr…
if we deported all these low-skilled illegals, wouldn’t that make the proportion of immigrants higher skilled?
Simple math – just as hard for RINOs as it is for leftists.
Rebar on February 1, 2013 at 3:24 PM
Mexico’s.
My deal is that we trade 1,000,000 illegals for David Brooks (i.e., he has to emigrate and give up his US citizenship). Another 1,000,000 for Frum. Another 1,000,000 for Scarborough. Etc.
besser tot als rot on February 1, 2013 at 3:32 PM
If by “hard” you mean “impossible.”
besser tot als rot on February 1, 2013 at 3:33 PM
Wouldn’t everything just be hunkydory if only David Brooks were king of the world?
I don’t see anything there about border security. Yeah, Canada can afford to be a little more picky, can’t they?
ddrintn on February 1, 2013 at 3:49 PM
Deeply blue California has the highest poverty rate of any state in the nation. It has the lowest bond rating of any state except for deeply blue Illinois. It has one of the highest high school dropout rates.
Hispanics will outnumber whites in California by 2014. Why? Primarily because of massive, unrestricted immigration from Mexico and other Latin American countries. California has imported a third world population and now in many ways is a third world society and economy.
Are the illiterate Mexican peasants draining California dry really going to start another Intel as Obama stated in his recent speech? Dubya still makes speeches about the “vibrancy” that the massive wave of immigration has allegedly brought to places like California. Wealthy Republican elites in their gated communities never have to deal with the consequences of their policies. And the Democrats see non-whites as a natural weapon to use against white Americans.
America is completely obsessed with self-loathing and with committing suicide and there’s really nothing you or I can do about it.
Django on February 1, 2013 at 3:56 PM
You’d have to deport 90% of them before you saw any kind of skill shift.
But that is just fine with me!
MelonCollie on February 1, 2013 at 7:11 PM