Reunification benefits America

Advocates for immigration reform, including the National Council of La Raza, are open to any number of proposals, including allowing the entry of more skilled workers. However, cutting back on our system’s commitment to reuniting families isn’t one of them, and that priority cannot be abandoned.

About two- thirds of legal immigrants have family ties to a citizen or lawful permanent resident already here, while 15% enter on work- based visas. Advocates of a merit- based immigration system would change the mix, giving preference to worker visas, arguing we should accept only the “best and brightest” of visa applicants from abroad, while cutting back on reuniting families. Such proposals have been defeated by large bipartisan congressional majorities for three decades, for good reasons.

The family- based system does not just reaffirm our commitment to family values; it also offers major practical benefits. Newcomers can be integrated more quickly into our labor market and social fabric when they have family members who can help with child care, opening a bank account, and enrolling in school. They provide needed support for family- owned businesses and are significant contributors to their communities, and many of tomorrow’s innovators are among them. The founders of Google, Yahoo and eBay are all immigrants — and none came to the United States through a skilled- workers visa.

Easing the entry of “higher merit” workers also risks undermining our commitment to help disadvantaged people move up the economic ladder. Once employers know that their high- skilled jobs could be filled from abroad, why should they support improvements in our education system or investments in higher education? As income inequality grows, we’d prefer to give our children the skills they need to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.

History suggests that attempts to delay reuniting families are also unenforceable. Separating people from their families for lengthy periods is rarely achievable in practice. Eventually, love overcomes law, and cutbacks in family visas would inevitably become yet another unenforceable element in a deeply flawed system.

Janet Murguia is president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza.