ISA Global

President Donald Trump, two years ago, proposed a plan aimed at modernizing the immigration system of the country. It comprised a merit-based point system for all employment-based visas in addition to a significant reduction when it came to family-based immigration. As shared by Trump, merely 12% of the total legal immigrants were selected for their merit or skill. Green cards were being issued for mainly low-skilled and low-wage immigrants competing for jobs against the vulnerable Americans.

The House Speaker responded, saying that she wanted more all-inclusive immigration reform. That said, it would need to consist of a pathway for DACA recipients in addition to a deep respect for the family. Unfortunately, the merit system proposed by Trump did not accomplish any objective. Most people distrusted Trump for his anti-immigration agenda and did not pay much heed to any immigration measures proposed by him. 

It is expected that President-elect Joe Biden will benefit from analyzing the merit-based point system of Canada for the selection of foreign workers. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of Canada aims to permit the country to pursue the maximum cultural, economic, and social advantages of immigration. It is interesting to note that the country first established its merit-based system for employment-based visas in 1967. The system was modified periodically but replaced in 2015 with the Express Entry System, which speeded up the entire selection process and minimized backlogs at the same time.

However, the story is completely different for Canada that follows a merit-based point system for all its employment-based visas. The system has proved to be rather successful for the country thus far. According to statistics, Canada was the most accepting and welcoming country worldwide when it comes to immigrants. In 2019 alone, the country accepted a whopping 341,000 permanent residents. The US arrived in sixth place in the same year. In fact, over 20% of the residents in Canada have a foreign birth. Moreover, the country has a wide array of settlement services when it comes to labor migrants as well as their families.

American Immigration Law Association’s Executive Director, Benjamin Johnson, contended that the presence of a points-based system is an unprecedented intrusion into the decisions of US businesses by the federal government on the kind of talent they should accept to fit their requirements. According to him, employers are better equipped to make that decision as they have a better understanding of their needs and those of their business than the federal government does. That said, emulating Canada’s point-based merit system for employment visas could offer the US a pool of qualified candidates to make their selection from. They could still choose according to the requirements of their businesses, and this availability of qualified professionals would make it simpler for them to locate foreign workers to fit their needs.

Hence, the US could benefit from this point-based system to employ foreign workers. However, the process must be properly enforced in order to work efficiently.