http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-unveils-his-own-proposal-for-immigration-reform/2013/01/29/b27dcb78-6a47-11e2-95b3-272d604a10a3_story_1.html
This article has a series of important economic implications.
It will be interesting to see just how the sudden influx of legal workers (a process that has already been started with Obama's executive orders), will affect various aspects of the economy.
The increase in basic labor will most likely diminish real wages across the board and increase the payoff for human capital, or for educated individuals.
One can envision an increase in demand in the housing market, now that many immigrants will be able to take out a mortgage.
The proposal even includes provisions to make it easier for immigrants with doctorates in science and technology to obtain a green card, thereby increasing the influx of highly educated individuals who will also be big time consumers in the American economy.
I personally think this is great news and that this has been the sensible thing to do for quite a while.
I imagine that the U.S. will experience a significant shift not only in its economy, but also in its political ideology across the board.
4 comments:
This is a very interesting article that touches on an increasingly important issue. Compared to many other Western democracies, America has relatively stringent immigration rules. These policies affect not only people engaging in illegal immigration, but also students in American universities who generally merit consideration for legal immigration.
I await further news regarding Obama's immigration plan, particularly with regards to the Republican reaction and any hopes of bipartisan compromise legislation. The Republican party especially has undertaken significant soul searching on the topic of immigration. Traditional Republican stances, as cited in the article, have often contributed to their electoral losses within an increasing diverse America.
Being an international students, I think this is a great news not only in terms of job opportunity but also in terms of political images. Winning more than 70% of votes from Latinos and Asian Americans in the November election, Obama is keeping his good images in these people's minds and increasing his popularity among immigrants who have potential to become U.S. citizens. If his policy works, the economy recovers well and unemployment decreases, he will surely receive a lot of public supports. However, if the opposite occurs, it is interesting to see how he replies to criticisms.
I am not a huge Obama fan but he makes some really sensible decisions. This would not only help the economy, it would also help in reducing the number of illegal immigrants in the States as well.
Either way, it seems that American policy has been destined toward a change favorable to immigration. There are far too many Hispanics in very important states that even the most conservative Republicans cannot continue ignore the necessary changes in immigration policy.
There was a story that I saw that even when an illegal immigrant married a US citizen, the immigrant was required to conduct an interview in his/her home country then barred from entering the states for 3 to 10 years. From personal experience and from what I have heard/read, the immigration policy is simply impractical. I hope that politics does not get in the way of a sensible immigration reform.
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