The changing face of diversity in the US, based on Immigration Policy Changes by the Trump Administration – “Merit-Based Immigration”
The memo titled “Immigration Principles and Policies” was published by the White House last week, and although this document is very vague, it does give us an idea of how the face of future immigrants will look. Here are ten takeaways from the memo:
- The wall between Mexico and the U.S. is still going up.
- Children, whether accompanied or not, will still be sent home, unless they can prove irrefutably that they were victims of abuse.
- Refugees are not welcome.
- Asylees must have iron-clad cases and anything resembling a fraudulent or frivolous/weak case will be closed, and expedited deportations will follow.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be hiring thousands of new employees to secure borders (security personnel) and unclog the immigration court backlogs (attorneys and judges).
- The merit-based system will aim to limit family-based petitions to spouses and minor children, so people sponsoring their parents or children over 21 or married will be out of luck.
- These potential immigrants will be supplanted by skilled workers (no definition was given) and people who contribute economically, which may mean an expansion of the EB-5 program.
- Green cards will be awarded based on the merits, as measured by a points system (no details were given).
- Offenses that used not to render people inadmissible or ineligible to adjust to permanent resident status, such as misdemeanors like one DUI offense, may now be barred, with no waivers available, so essentially only people with spotless records can get visas or become green card holders.
- As a logical extension of the merit-based system, the Diversity Lottery will go the way of the dodo bird.
So what will the new face of the U.S. immigrant look like? Richer, more business-driven, able to hold only professional positions, part of a family which cannot be completely unified, probably not from a developing or struggling nations, i.e. whiter and more privileged, much like our current U.S. President.