Immigration Reform: An Insider's View

Over the past several weeks, I've had the chance to speak, more than once, with USCIS headquarters in Washington, DC (and to those running the Agency). I've also spoken, off the record, with the Judiciary Committee - which is responsible for any upcoming immigration legislation or reform.

Generally, these conversations, which are highly personal, often lead to us speaking about immigration philosophy, but also about very specific serious, endemic or systemic problems that have yet to be truthfully addressed, or more importantly, changed. And yes, more than likely, I will get into a case or two that I am dealing with which illustrates that the system is broken.

For example, on the philosophical front, I often wonder out load, not as a Democrat or Republican (I'm neither), what role should the U.S. government and/or USCIS or DOL bureaucrats play in telling a private U.S. employer who they can or cannot hire? If there is a role, shouldn't it be limited to a security check and to assure that the job offered is paid at the "the prevailing wage"; that is, if a U.S. employer finds that he/she wants to hire a foreign national, I believe the government should get out of the way, but it also seems reasonable that the individual hired be paid a U.S. wage (even if they were willing to work for less).

Forcing companies to hire a "minimally qualified" able and willing U.S. citizen over the chosen foreign national (who the company desires and feels will do the best job for them) seems extraordinarily dumb. The real issue is who chooses? Do U.S. companies have the right to recruit anyone, from anywhere, or should they be limited to the human resources in are own country?

We are a nation, unlike most in the world, who have a history of welcoming new people, attracting those that can innovate, invigorate, and work hard towards a uniform goal of keeping our economy and country strong and a leader (in science, technology, entrepreneurship).

The idea that some Washington bureaucrat can make decisions that can truly destroy our country's ability to create new jobs, innovate or create new technologies, and provide for a robust and growing workforce and economy, seems ludicrous to me - but that is what is happening on a case by case basis, everyday!

More on this later and why no one seems to care: stupidy or ignorance, or both?