Chamie: "Until the country adopts clear policies and implements effective programs, immigration will remain a crisis for the country and continue to be a divisive issue dividing Americans."

As you may have already heard, immigration reform is among the first items on the Biden-Harris agenda. But now is a terrible time to increase immigration. Increasing immigration during a tight labor market suppresses wage growth, but in a covid-spiked loose labor market it will make it more difficult for many to find a job at all.

In his op-ed "How many more immigrants and who should they be?", Joseph Chamie provides us with an excellent primer of historical immigration, as well as good framing for how we should consider policy reforms today. Please read it and share it with friends who value informative content:

"It is evident that the number of people wishing to immigrate to the U.S., estimated at more than 150 million, far exceeds the number the country can realistically accept. Consequently, choices will have to be made regarding how many should be admitted annually and who those individuals should be.

The nation needs to effectively address unlawful immigration and border security. Thirty five years ago, Congress adopted the Immigration Reform and Control (IRCA) and with it an estimated 2.7 million individuals unlawfully resident in the country were granted legal status - the largest in U.S. history.

Today, the estimated number of people residing unlawfully in the country is four times the number when IRCA was adopted, approximately 11 million or almost a quarter of today's U.S. foreign-born population. In addition, the immigration courts backlog of cases is at a record high of 1.3 million, with delayed court hearing days.

As Barbara Jordan advocated, immigration limits should be crafted in our national interest. And its credibility can only be ensured if: Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave.

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