Seeking immigrants with skills

Occasionally President Donald Trump tweets something worthwhile. Such was the case earlier this month when he praised the skills-based immigration systems of Canada and Australia.

Canada, which in 1967 became the first nation to use a points system, grades applicants to its Federal Skilled Worker Program on work experience, education, language ability, age, arranged employment and a more subjective measure of “adaptability.” To be eligible for a permanent resident visa, an applicant must accumulate enough points in the various categories to pass.

The result is that about 60 percent of permanent residents admitted to Canada are admitted for economic reasons. Canada values high skills, and selects its immigrants accordingly.

Studies show that skilled immigrants increase productivity, create jobs and spark entrepreneurship. U.S. immigrants are responsible for a disproportionately high number of international patent applications. Roughly 40 percent of Indian immigrants to the U.S., for example, have a graduate degree, almost four times the rate of native-born Americans.

U.S. immigration law currently values family ties over skills. A points system similar to Canada’s would reverse that preference. Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia have introduced legislation to accomplish such a switch, scaling back family-based migration to the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

But the bill would also drastically reduce immigration overall. It would end the 50,000 annual “diversity visas,” a lottery system that admits immigrants from countries with historically low rates of immigration, and it would cap green cards for refugees at 50,000.

Recalibrating U.S. immigration policy to prioritize high skills makes sense. Cutting overall immigration levels in half, however, is too a high price to pay.

There is little support for the current system, which affords too little consideration of economic goals. A points system similar to those used in Canada and Australia could rectify that mistake. But if it proves to be a ruse for clamping down on immigration indiscriminately, the U.S. will fall behind in the global competition for talent. You can’t score points without the right players.