A pragmatic rant about Immigration in America

All the recent talk in the media about immigration has me thinking about the issue. The media projects an image of America in which illegal immigrants are crossing the border and consuming all of our public and social services without contributing equally. Whether or not the statement is correct is debatable, but what is not debatable is the fact that the US is allowing millions of immigrants to migrate to our cities and towns without a real plan. Immigration is a very positive thing, in fact it is the fabric of American society and I will argue that it is THE competitive edge for our economy.

Millions of highly educated doctors, engineers, scientists, teachers and computer scientists around the world are willing to immigrate and be a part of our workforce; as soon as we grant them visas. We live in a place the likes of which have never been seen throughout the history of mankind. What we offer our citizens are the fundamental liberties, and around the world there are more places than not where people still seek the simple things in life, like personal safety and freedom. The ability to practice life based on individual principals, no matter how different and unique they may be. In return we ask for one thing, a commitment to our basic principals of liberty and justice. For millions of professionals around the world this is more than a fair proposition. That is why the entire immigration issue becomes even more critical.

If we are going to allow millions of people a year to immigrate here, then let`s do it in a methodical way. Why not regulate the whole thing like we regulate every other industry. Allow me to explain, the US govt. could start to organize the immigration process in such a way that the most desirably skilled individuals such as Nano technologists or Stem cell researchers for example, can immigrate on a fast track basis. The immigration service has the ability to transform itself and in the process transform the future of this country. If I may dare suggest; the immigration department should in fact act a little like the HR department, responsible for screening candidates good for the country and good for industry. This one action alone will change our weakness into our strength and allow the US to stay competitive in an ever changing global economy.

No one disagrees that in today`s changing economy the human capital is paramount. Companies are built by people. As the global economy evolves and processes improve the differentiator between success and failure will depend on ideas and the sheer creativity of the human mind. It`s the simple ideas at US companies such as Google, eBay and Apple that have the ability to change the way we live, play and work. Today cars are designed in Detroit on a computer and transmitted around the world to places like China and India for fabrication and are delivered back in pieces to Detroit in a seamless way. The days of small and mid size businesses having the same access to technology are not far off. So if the process is commoditized than the value remains in the idea; and the ideas reside with people. Scott Mcnealy of the Sun Microsystems fame oftain said that all the smartest people in the world don`t work at Sun, so we have to find a way to tap the talent outside of our company. Similarly, all the smartest people in the world don`t live in the US and immigration is the perfect way to tap them.

A streamlined immigration policy would need to be in sync with the business and civic needs of our citizens. As the baby boomers retire it would make sense to immigrate more nurses and healthcare professionals from around the world. Additionally, why not try to attract some of the best teachers from private schools in countries around the world by offering immigration. The future of our kids depends on such proactive initiatives.

I hope that someday soon the immigration debate progressess to more proactive initiatives rather then just reactive issues of border patrol.