It’s Time for Republicans to Reconsider Open Borders
If I have a criticism of the Republican party, and conservatives in general, it’s that we have a tendency to avoid dealing with uncomfortable problems until it’s too late. Our preference to maintain the status quo often hurts us in the long run once the issue becomes too obvious to ignore. By the time Republican lawmakers are ready to face up, they’re left to choose amongst a myriad of bad leftist solutions.
I fear we are heading down that road with immigration.
If anyone believes that deportation and border security is a permanent answer to the immigration crisis, they are kidding themselves. That only works if we’re certain there will never be another Democrat president. I can guarantee the next leftist that assumes the office will immediately cut new holes in the wall and end deportations on day one, and a flood of new illegal aliens will commence.
The H1-B Controversy
Recently, an unexpected controversy bubbled to the surface inside the MAGA movement that pitted its progressive members against the more conservative faction. The issue centered around the H1-B visa, which allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. While the rift has been exploited by the legacy media as signs of fissures in the MAGA movement, instead, it serves as an opportunity to establish a permanent immigration ideology.
Occupations affected by H-1B typically require a higher level of education and expertise in fields like information technology (IT), engineering, medicine, mathematics, architecture, and other scientific, technical, and academic areas. The visa applicant must have at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from a foreign institution. The visas end after a three-year period but can be extended to six years. H1-B visas are usually capped at 65,000 per year. They are considered highly desirable since they often serve as a stepping stone to a green card.
The recent debate centered around President-elect Trump’s appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American immigrant entrepreneur, as senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence. The firestorm started when Laura Loomer, an outspoken MAGA activist who pushes boundaries, criticized the selection of Krishnan. Apparently, he had supported removing some caps on green cards and relaxing rules to make it easier for foreign workers to come to the U.S. Loomer believes Krishnan’s ideas are in direct opposition to Trump’s stated immigration platform. Her thoughts were reflective of a broader staunch anti-immigrant ideology.
Somehow, Elon Musk caught wind of Loomer’s extensive series of anti-H-1B tweets on X, and he fired back.
Since the initial skirmish, cooler heads have prevailed. President Trump endorsed Musk’s position, and Musk and his DOGE partner Vivek Ramaswamy both agreed the H-1B program must be overhauled.
A New Approach to Open Borders
The Trump/Musk/Ramaswamy vision for immigration is the right one, but it doesn’t go far enough. Setting aside moral and ethical issues, America cannot effectively close its borders. It’s logistically impossible for the reasons listed above and the persistence of those searching for a better life.
Instead of focusing exclusively on border security, an equally robust effort should be directed towards devising an immigration system based exclusively on merit.
You see, at its core, capitalism is just a really sophisticated multi-level marketing system. Adam Smith’s economic model needs two things to thrive: consumers and skilled workers. The combination of producing useful things that people need created an environment that allowed the U.S. to evolve into the greatest economic machine in the history of the world.
If other countries are dumb enough to give us their intellectual and skilled human capital, we should willingly welcome these people and grin all the way to the bank.
The first step is making immigration less complex by cutting unnecessary red tape. A ten year wait time for someone with valuable skills who wants to become an American is unacceptable. Eliminate the visas, temporary stays, green cards and the myriad of other policies and programs that clog the system and make everyone cynical about the process.
Development of a series of aptitude tests would weed out the imposters. The skill level of every vocation from a surgeon to a plumber can be verified through extensive testing. If the applicant passes their test, they would be immediately matched with an employer and provided with a resident’s card. They could bring members of their immediate family with them. Five years after steady employment, they would be granted citizenship.
Every year, the system would recalibrate. Currently, there are skilled labor shortages in health care, professional and business services, real estate, construction, transportation and a myriad of other industries. If an immigrant has experience and skill in an area of need, why wouldn’t we want to let them in?
A merit-based policy would also deprive the left of one of their favorite race-related issues. If the system is entirely geared toward skills and need, the appearance of the individual becomes irrelevant. If we have a need for skilled plumbers, the decision on who gets to enter would be based exclusively on the applicant’s aptitude test score. This completely negates any potential claims that someone is being excluded because of their appearance.
The immigrants who might suffer under this system would be those without any marketable skills. These are the people who tend to be a burden on society by producing nothing while syphoning resources away from needy American citizens. At the same time, it’s possible the knowledge that entry into the U.S. was based on acquiring a useful skill might motivate the immigrant to learn one, and if they did, they might decide to stay in their native country.
Once the ground rules were set, American citizens would come to understand that anyone who wanted to come to the U.S. could do so if they had something to offer. The left would no longer be in a position to demagogue the issue. Sanctuary cities would lose their appeal because the message would be simple: If you want in, learn a skill.
I could envision setting up training centers in those countries most affected by fleeing citizens. We could threaten to rescind our foreign aid if the corrupt thugs in charge didn’t cooperate.
Republicans must become better at identifying problems and developing solutions that fit within the structure of our philosophy and core beliefs.
Here is a place to start.
