America Needs a Merit-Based Immigration System

America’s existing immigration system gives overwhelming preference to family reunions with citizens and immigrants already here. This approach needs to be revised on two fronts.

First, it’s unfair. It gives preference to blood relationships and family connections. It discriminates against people with no familial ties but who have knowledge, skills, and experience and can contribute to our economy and be productive citizens. The people our immigration system discriminates against today are the kind of people our nation has attracted since its founding. The current system also overlooks the fact that many people waiting in line for family reunions might qualify to migrate to America on merit but are instead stuck in a decades-long wait to be admitted on a family basis.