Public favours merit-based immigration
Polls show that over the years U.S. residents prefer working, educated English-speakers
WASHINGTON— A new Senate bill introduced by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue—and endorsed by President Donald Trump—aims to cut legal immigration levels by half and implement a “merit-based” system that would emphasize job skills over family ties in awarding green cards. It would change immigration policies that have been in place for more than 50 years and significantly cut the number of visas allocated every year. But what does the public think about such sweeping changes?
Surveys over the past decade show Americans think it’s important for immigrants to possess several attributes prioritized by the new bill, including speaking English, having a job and a high level of education—but there’s mixed opinion on reducing the number of immigrants granted entry to the United States.
According to a June Gallup poll, 35 per cent said immigration should be decreased while a similar 38 per cent said it should remain at current levels and 24 per cent said it should be increased.
No public survey has tested support for the Trump-backed proposal yet, but pollsters have asked questions about individual aspects of such a bill over the past few years. The meritbased system proposed in the Cotton-Purdue bill awards points based on ability to speak English, whether a candidate has a high-paying job offer, his or her age, education level, record of “extraordinary achievement” and investments in “new commercial enterprise.” An applicant would need to accrue 30 points in these categories to apply for immigration, according to the legislation.
The bill awards points to applicants based on their prowess with the English language. A large majority of Americans think it’s important for immigrants to speak English, though opinions are more mixed on giving preference to people who are fluent in the language.
In 2013, a Gallup survey found 72 per cent of Americans said it is “essential” that immigrants living in the U.S. learn to speak English; 24 per cent said it is “important” but not essential. Large majorities across party lines said learning English is essential; this view peaked at 85 per cent among Republicans compared with 65 per cent of Democrats.
A few years before then, a 2009 Transatlantic Trends survey found 92 per cent saying it is at least somewhat important for immigrants admitted to the United States to know English, with fully 69 per cent saying it is “very important.”
The proposed program would give more qualification points to prospective immigrants who have been offered a job with a significantly higher salary than most in the state where they would work, and also gives greater priority to applicants with professional degrees or doctorates in science, technology, engineering and math.
Although Americans prefer allowing immigrants with higher levels of education into the country, job status appears to be a more important factor when the two are weighed against one another: More than 7 in 10 in the 2009 Transatlantic Trends survey said it is very or somewhat important for an immigrant to have a job offer when deciding whether to admit them, about the same as the 69 per cent who said it is at least somewhat important to have a high level of education. Over 9 in 10 said it is at least somewhat important to speak English.