Curtail ‘chain immigration,’ but leave the limits alone

For far too long, the key to immigrating legally to the United States has not been job skills or evidence that an immigrant is likely to be productive and succeed. It’s having a family member who’s already in America legally.

In 2015, 65% of the immigrants granted green cards, which bestow lawful permanent residence, were relatives of U.S. citizens or other legal residents — a trend that goes back five decades. And it’s not just spouses and minor children, but a stream of adult siblings and children who have family members of their own who can then qualify for entry.

Now Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, in a measure introduced last week and championed by President Trump, would change this system in a way that makes sense — by focusing more on merit and less on family ties.

This change is long overdue. It was part of immigration proposals a decade ago, when President George W. Bush proposed a comprehensive reform package, and again in 2013. It made sense then and still does.

This time, though, it’s coupled with an unwise effort to slash legal immigration by more than

40% next year and keep cutting until the limit would stand at

540,000 in the 10th year — about half the number in 2015.

Even if some decrease were warranted, such a precipitous drop would neither give the nation time to absorb the change nor test its effect on the economy. It might even spur more undocumented immigrants to sneak over the borders to jobs that go unfilled.

The best approach would be to keep legal immigration levels close to where they are now, but put more focus on skills rather than family relationships. This country is in a global race to attract the best minds and most productive workers, yet the current system ignores that reality by focusing on “chain immigration.”

Family reunification is unfair to many who seek to immigrate but have no family already here. Why should those hopefuls be virtually shut out? Also, this system tends to favor a small number of nations whose residents have gained a foothold in the USA and to limit immigration from other countries.

Last year, for example, more immigrant visas were issued to Mexicans than to people from all African nations combined. As time goes on, the chances of immigrating if you don’t have a relative in America will diminish sharply. Instead of a melting pot, the USA will become home to more and more foreigners from the same countries.

Family support does have value, and the proposal would still favor spouses and minor children of citizens and legal immigrants. Siblings, parents and grown children would no longer get preference.

The Cotton-Perdue merit system would grant the most points to those who speak English, have professional degrees or doctorates in the sciences, and have offers of high-paying jobs.

Making this drastic change is a tough choice, but it’s a necessary one in a competitive world where the U.S. economy cries out for certain skills and there are only so many green cards to go around.