A look at proposed Merit-Based system in Immigration Reform Compromise

One of the most controversial aspects of the proposed immigration reform compromised announced Thursday is the switch from an immigration system based upon family ties and family reunification to one based on a "merit system" that gives greater weight to educational level, jobs skills, and English proficiency.

Advocates of the compromise claim that the "merit system" will insure that those who qualify for Permanent Residence Status (green card) under the new system would be those who can make the greatest contributions to society.

Those opposed the plan claim it's a high-risk, large-scale social experimentation that would have adverse effects on families and disregards a fundamental, longstanding principle of American immigration policy and of real family values. Additionally they claim it would establish a class of workers who lack family and community roots that would seriously undermine efforts to integrate new immigrants into the American way of life.

There have come assurances from those advocating for the compromise that the "merit system" can still honor the tradition of family values. But from a look at the way points will be allocated under the new system, I don't believe that to be the case. 75% of the points are allocated for education and skills, 15% for English proficiency, and only 10% of the points are allocated for family ties.

Link to Draft Copy of Bill - The Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007


The following is the breakdown of the point allocations under the new merit system.

It comes from a draft copy of the legislation that is unverified and my not be complete …but does give us an idea of how those working on the legislation are looking at the different areas and how they plan on assessing the points.

Category	Description	Max pts
Employment Occupation National interest/ critical infrastructure Employer endorsement Experience Age of worker	U.S. employment in Specialty Occupation (DoL definition) – 20 pts U.S. employment in High Demand Occupation (BLS largest 10-yr job growth, top 30) – 16 pts U.S. employment in STEM or health occupation, current for at least 1 year – 8 pts (extraordinary or ordinary) A U.S. employer willing to pay 50% of LPR application fee either 1) offers a job, or 2) attests for a current employee – 6 pts Years of work for U.S. firm – 2 pts/year (max 10 pts) Worker’s age: 25-39 – 3 pts	47

Education (terminal degree)

M.D., M.B.A., Graduate degree, etc. – 20 pts Bachelor’s degree – 16 pts Associate’s degree – 10 pts High School diploma or GED – 6 pts Completed certified Perkins Vocational Education program – 5 pts Completed DoL Registered Apprenticeship – 8 pts STEM, assoc & above – 8 pts

28

English & civics	Native speaker of English or TOEFL score of 75 or higher – 15 pts TOEFL score of 60-74 – 10 pts Pass USCIS Citizenship Tests in English&Civics–6 pts	15
Extended family (Applied if threshold of 55 in above categories.)	Adult (21 or older) son or daughter of USC – 8 pts Adult (21 or older) son or daughter of LPR – 6 pts Sibling of USC or LPR – 4 pts If had applied for a family visa in any of the above categories after May 1, 2005– 2 pts	10
		100
Supplemental schedule for Zs Agriculture National Interest U.S. employment exp. Home ownership Medical Insurance	Worked in agriculture for 3 years, 150 days per year – 21 pts Worked in agriculture for 4 years (150 days for 3 years, 100 days for 1 year) – 23 pts Worked in agriculture for 5 years, 100 days per year – 25 points Year of lawful employment – 1 pt (max 15pts) Own place of residence – 1 pt/year owned (max 5pts) Current medical insurance for entire family (5pts)	25 15 5 5

To see how this new system would work, not only for new applicants, but also the millions of Z card holders who will be part of the proposed "amnesty" program who would eventually be eligable for green cards - one need only check the chart.

A 25 year old foreign applicant with a job prospect, a high school diploma and limited or no English proficiency would receive 15 pts ...par for the course for most unskilled workers from Mexico or Central America (and most traditional immigrants for the last 100 years)...If he/she never finished high school..knock that down to 9pts

The let's take the case of a 30 year old Z card holder with a high school diploma, whose been employed in th US for five years, has an employer sponsor and is now fluent in English - he/she would get a maximum of 45pts.

That's pretty indicative of the max level that most unskilled/semi-skilled worker could attain.

Even someone here 15 years with the same qualifications as our 30 year old plus owning his/her own home and carrying family health insurance would max out at 65 pts.

Compare this to a recent college graduate with a BA from anywhere in the world (16pts), who also spoke English (15pts) and could compete in any of the top 30 fastest growing professions in the nation (16pts), and a willing employer (8pts) ... they would start with a minimum of 55pts.

Add in higher degree, STEM, and a specialty employment and that number goes up to 71 pts...before setting foot in the country

The legislation doesn't mention any parameters as how the merit system "grades" would effect these two applicants, but it's safe to assume that with a finite number of green cards available each year, the low-skilled workers from areas like Mexico and Central America who currently make up the bulk of both legal and undocumented workers would end up somewhere on the bottom of the priority list.

It is quite clear that this is a dramatic change from the family based immigration of the past 40 years. It is also quite clear that it is meant to change the demographic make-up of future immigration. ...favoring high-skilled people who speak English over the working-people and the poor that have made up the bulk of the immigrant population for over two hundred years.

For more detailed information on how the merit system will work and how it will effect future immigration demographics see: MPI releases data on merit based point systems for immigration