“Merit-Based” Immigration: Trump Proposal Would Dramatically Revamp Immigrant Selection Criteria, But with Modest Effects on Numbers

The Trump administration has promised to bring forward a proposal to make significant changes to the U.S. legal immigration system. Details have yet to be released, but in this essay, MPI examines what we know about the administration’s approach and summarizes some of the major changes. The administration’s plan would shift our immigration policy away from family immigration toward a “merit-based” system, and base selection on a point system that would favor skills and employability. Overall numbers would change little, according to the authors’ projections. Immigrants from China and India, who dominate today’s employment immigration channels, would likely be favored in the new system. The authors note that selection through a government-regulated point system would be a major departure from the current demand-driven system in which employers have more say. The system would not address gaps in the low- and middle-skills workforce. In addition to reviewing changes that would likely result from the new system, the authors provide a brief history of our current bifurcated immigration system, remark on the point systems of other countries, review past attempts to install a point system in the U.S., and speculate on the prospects for the administration’s proposal.  (Maurice Belanger, Maurice Belanger Consulting)

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