Beyond the campaign rhetoric about illegal immigrations, Michael Barone notes in his latest Washington Examiner column that Congress is taking some interesting steps to address the issue.
[T]he evidence is that migration from Mexico has slowed to a trickle and the Census Bureau tells us the number of illegals has declined.
Those trends are likely to continue. As former Mexico Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda explains in his recent book “Manana Forever?” most Mexicans are now in the Wal-Mart middle class or above. …
… At the same time it’s apparent that the United States needs more high-skill immigrants — job creators rather than job seekers. The death of Steve Jobs (whose father, it turns out, was an immigrant) reminds us that highly talented individuals can be huge national assets.
The response in the House of Representatives has been a bipartisan push for more green card slots for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) graduates of American universities.
One sponsor is Silicon Valley’s Zoe Lofgren, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee. Another, who apparently copied much of Lofgren’s bill, is Idaho freshman Republican Raul Labrador.
And it appears that the chairman of the full Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith of Texas, is interested. This is noteworthy because Smith has been an implacable opponent of any bill containing legalization or amnesty provisions.
But Smith agrees that it is a travesty not to admit STEM graduates educated at American universities who want to apply their talents in this country.
