Article by Fareed Zakaria points out the dangers of nativism

[AJTheMan]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2116713,00.html
As the American economy sags, the race for the presidency gets tighter--except in one dimension. Hispanic Americans continue to support Barack Obama by an astonishing 61%-to-27% margin. Were Obama to win, it might well be because of his attitudes on one issue: immigration. But it is an issue on which he will be unable to enact any of his preferences, let alone those policies that many Latinos support. The Republican Party has taken a tough stand on the topic. Democrats have their own bright lines. That means America's immigration system is likely to stay as it is right now--utterly broken.

We think of ourselves as the world's great immigrant society, and of course, for most of the country's history, that has been true. But something fascinating has happened over the past two decades. Other countries have been transforming themselves into immigrant societies, adopting many of America's best ideas and even improving on them. The result: the U.S. is not as exceptional as it once was, and its immigration advantage is lessening.

Would you have guessed that Canada and Australia both have a higher percentage of foreign-born citizens than the U.S.? In fact, in this respect, America--which once led the world--increasingly looks like many other Western countries. France, Germany and the U.K. have only slightly fewer foreign-born residents than America (as a percentage of the population). And some of these countries have managed to take in immigrants mostly based on their skills, giving a big boost to their economies.

Canadian immigration policy is now centered on recruiting talented immigrants with abilities the country needs. Those individuals can apply for work visas themselves; they don't even need to have an employer. The Canadian government awards points toward the visa, with extra points for science education, technical skills and work experience.

I read this article in Time Magazine the other day. I thought it was a very good article detailing the dangers of nativism and crazy immigration policy.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. It isn't immigration as much as it is giving political power to a huge demographic.

If Hispanics were more likely than not to register and then vote republican, they'd have been sworn in years ago.

[AJTheMan]

2. I see your point.

I wonder if the Republicans try to limit the voting bloc of Cubans, who almost always vote Republican.

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Cubans have carte blanche to immigrate and become naturalized.

Free pass because they "escape" from Fidel Castro and renounce communism.

[Odin2005]

4. I am uneasy with criticizing "nativism".

Because legit criticisms of nativist sentiment eventually becomes a way the PTB can silence criticism of "Free Trade" as racist and xenophobic. The "Neo-Liberal" court philosophers regularly equate being against "Free Trade" with being a racist anti-immigration bigot.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

6. x2

[pampango]

9. But you are not uneasy with criticizing 'racism' are you? Just because the PTB

"can silence criticism of "Free Trade" as racist and xenophobic" doesn't mean that any of us should be reluctant to criticize racism or xenophobia. Others may accuse posters of racism, xenophobia or nativism when is it not true or appropriate, but that shouldn't stop us from criticizing those attitudes whenever and wherever we see them.

It should not be too difficult to post on topics like 'free trade' or immigration (or any other issue that involves foreigners or other races) while simultaneously making it quite clear that you are not a "racist, anti-immigration bigot". Then if someone else wants to throw "R" or "X" or "N" charges at you, they will be the ones looking silly.

[Odin2005]

10. Well, well, looked who popped up!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. I saw his CNN program this afternoon on that very issue

He discussed Japan at length and the fact they are paying foreign born immigrants, even ones who have lived there for decades, to leave the country apparently because some in their government don't want outsiders. Meanwhile, the Japanese population is shrinking due to low birthrates which will precipitate a crisis as the population grows older and no one is there to do the work. Some in Japan hope that robots will become sophisticated enough to become a replacement workforce.

When it comes to Canada, he presented it as a positive response to immigration, noting that most Canadian immigration is work-related, not family-based as it is in the U.S. He noted that Canada makes it easy for skilled, young, and well-educated people to immigrate there based on their point system. It's true, as I found out when I was an active immigration lawyer in California; some Ph.D. grads I handled from China were not accepted for approval by U.S. immigration whereas I was able to get them eligible to be qualified as a landed immigrant to Canada.

One problem I had with the program however concerned their statements regarding H-1bs. They were criticizing the U.S. government's reduction in the yearly cap numbers, arguing that we need to admit more professionals under H-1b as there aren't enough scientists, accountants, engineers, and technical specialists home grown in the U.S. For a TV news program to promote increased immigration while Americans are suffering from unemployment absolutely requires commentary on the sad state of public education in the United States. Americans would love to qualify for these jobs that they want H-1bs to hold. Forgetting to explain why employers can't fill these jobs without advocating overhaul of public education in this country is irresponsible.

[Zalatix]

8. Meanwhile for us Americans to immigrate into Canada

1) we cannot have any major medical problems.
2) we have to show that we have $10,000 in funds.
3) unlike immigrants from overseas, we have to have a job lined up.


As for Americans not being smart enough for American jobs, that is utterly, tragically untrue. Here is the truth:

[pampango]

11. Are you saying that Canada has special rules for potential American immigrants that don't apply to

immigrants from other countries?

Emigration from Canada to the United States has historically exceeded in-migration but there were short periods where the reverse was true; for example, the Loyalist refugees; during the Cariboo/Fraser Gold Rush and later the Klondike Gold Rush which saw many American prospectors inhabiting British Columbia and the Yukon; land settlers moving from the Northern Plains to the Prairies in the early 20th century and also during periods of political turmoil and/or during wars, for example the Vietnam War. In recent years, the emigration from Canada to the U.S. is very small in numbers compared to immigrants coming to Canada. However, in an interesting turn of events, between 2009 and 2011, Canada has experienced a 200% increase in immigrants moving from the U.S. to Canada due to the thriving Canadian economy and stable political and banking landscape.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada

I know Canada does check for the health of immigrants. When my mother-in-law got a visa to visit Canada from the Philippines she had to undergo medical tests beforehand. The logic seems to be that once she's legally in Canada she would be covered under Canada's health care system immediately, so they seem to try to be sure that people with potentially expensive health problems don't just come to Canada for free treatment.

For an 'investor' visa to Canada I think you need $300,000 in assets, but for a skilled worker visa I haven't seen an immigrant needs a certain amount assets to immigrate.

unlike immigrants from overseas, we have to have a job lined up So immigrants that cross an ocean have an easier time of it than immigrants who can drive to Canada. I've looked at Canada's Immigration website and I don't see that.

For your application to be eligible for processing, you must:

have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the occupations listed here * OR
be an international student enrolled in a PhD program in Canada (or graduated from a Canadian PhD program within the past 12 months) and meet certain criteria.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid, which are:

your education
your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages
your work experience
your age
whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and
your adaptability.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-who.asp

I don't see any mention of special rules for American immigrants anywhere on their website.

[Zalatix]

7. The problem is that American citizens cannot immigrate abroad as easily.

Foreign countries keep their borders a lot more sealed than America does.

Their unemployed can come here. Where can America's unemployed go?