Trump plan falls short on immigration reforms

It may not be his intention, but President Trump is making the case for comprehensive immigration reform almost every time he opens his mouth.

His recent embrace of the immigration plan offered by U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia ignited a debate over a rock-bottom question: To whom should we open our doors and give access to America’s promise?

Trump made his position clear. Cut the number of visa seekers in half, down to about 500,000 from 1 million a year. In the process, drastically reduce the visas issued to family members of those already here.

Everybody else’s eligibility would be based on a point system, from one point for a high school diploma, to 25 points for a Nobel Prize. Proficiency in English — the greater the better — is a door-opener, too.

The door swings widest for the well-off and better educated. A Ph.D. in math and science from a U.S. school earns 13 points toward the 30 points needed to apply. A $1.8 million investment in a business earns 12.

The Trump-backed plan does not favor the Statue of Liberty’s call to send us “your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” On the contrary, it appears to aggressively reject those of less-privileged station. In so doing, it ignores our nation’s history and countless stories of immigrants who’ve achieved extraordinary success here, despite having no job or English-language skills when they arrived.

That said, the policy of family reunification — the primary ticket to entry — does deserve reconsideration. Trump and many others, including Jeb Bush, effectively argue the policy should better reflect workforce needs. We’re inclined to agree, within reason.

It makes no sense for our country to grant visas mostly to family members, including distant relatives, in what’s called “chain immigration.” But while today’s family standards are too loose, the proposed remedy — granting visas only to someone’s spouse and children — is too tight.

Although the family issue deserves more examination, Trump is focused mostly on the policy of awarding H-1B visas to foreign tech workers, a process he believes threatens the jobs of U.S. workers.

“I will end forever the use of H-1B visas as a cheap labor program ... no exceptions,” he said on the campaign trail.

However, those most in need of workers with H-1B skills — the leaders of Silicon Valley — say that without those skilled workers, the U.S. tech industry will suffer a blow.

Economists will tell you, too, that because of our nation’s low birth rate, we need more immigration to achieve the 3 percent economic growth targeted in the president’s budget.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the continent, President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago staff is getting ready for the winter tourist season. The pressing need is to to hire about 70 cooks, waiters and waitresses, maids and the like.

Trump’s concern for American workers appears to be less impassioned when it comes to his own staffing needs. All 70 of the season’s hires will come from abroad, mostly Central Europe and Haiti, according to published reports.

Mar-a-Lago can’t seem to find qualified Americans to do the work the resort demands.

The resort dutifully abides by the letter of the law, running two small print ads in the Palm Beach Post on non-consecutive days. If the ads generate no response for 14 days, Mar-a-Lago is cleared to bring in the foreigners.

Trump argues that qualified Americans reject offers of seasonal work. He has no choice, he says. Every hotel operator has the same problem, he says. American workers don’t want these jobs, he says.

One side of Trump’s mouth calls for protecting American jobs from foreign workers, the other hires foreign workers to do American jobs.

And the president does nothing to set an example. Surely some unemployed kitchen worker in West Palm Beach would welcome a job, if even for a short time. But he needs to know such a job exists. Two ads in a newspaper he may not read isn’t likely to do the trick.

Perhaps participation in the kind of recent job fair Mar-a-Lago failed to attend also would stir up a few needy job seekers.

As we debate who we will welcome to America, we remain divided about what to do with the 11.3 million undocumented aliens living under the cloud of a deportation threat.

The jaundiced eye may question the real motive behind the rhetoric and the tweets.

Who are the undocumented 11 million targeted by the Trump Administration’s get-tough deportation policy?

They are black and brown and poor and hoping for the life America has given dreamers since Plymouth Rock.

A reasoned debate about immigration is worth having and is long overdue. But it’s going to need a champion who can walk the talk.

The Trump-backed plan ... ignores our nation’s history and countless stories of immigrants who’ve achieved extraordinary success here, despite having no job or English-language skills when they arrived.