US President Donald Trump has replaced the existing green cards with new merit and points-based immigration system called ‘Build America’ visa. The move substantially hikes the quota for young and highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent, which is likely to benefit thousands of Indian professionals.
Trump said the current ‘broken’ system of legal immigration has failed to retain and attract brilliant talent from across the globe.
The president said he was proposing a merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense, besides passing English and Civics tests.
“We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won’t anymore once we get this passed, and we hope to get it passed as soon as possible. We want these exceptional students and workers to stay, flourish and thrive in America,” Trump said.
“Under the senseless rules of the current system, we’re not able to give preference to a doctor, a researcher, a student who graduated number one in his class from the finest colleges in the world, anybody,” Trump said in a major immigration policy address in the Rose Garden of the White House.
“We cherish the open door that we want to create for our country, but a big proportion of those immigrants must come in through merit and skill,” he said.
The White House plan makes no change to the number of green cards allocated each year.
“Instead of admitting people through random chance, we will establish simple, universal criteria for admission to the United States. No matter where in the world you’re born, no matter who your relatives are, if you want to become an American citizen, it will be clear exactly what standard we ask you to achieve. It will be made crystal clear,” Trump said.
“This will increase the diversity of immigration flows into our country. We will replace the existing green card categories with a new visa, the Build America visa – which is what we all want to hear,” Trump said amidst applause from the audience.
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“You will get more points for being a younger worker, meaning you will contribute more to our social safety net. You will get more points for having a valuable skill, an offer of employment, an advanced education, or a plan to create jobs,” he said.
In the absence of such a system, America is losing people who want to start companies, and in many cases, are forced to leave the country and go back to the country where they came from, he said.
The President said priority will also be given to higher-wage workers to ensure the American labour is never undercut.
To protect benefits for American citizens, immigrants must be financially self-sufficient, he said.
“Finally, to promote integration, assimilation, and national unity, future immigrants will be required to learn English and to pass a civics exam prior to admission. Through these steps, we will deliver an immigration system that respects, and even strengthens, our culture, our traditions, and our values,” Trump said.
“America’s immigration system should bring in people who will expand opportunity for striving, low-income Americans, not to compete with those low-income Americans,” he said.
Like all new policies, immediate reaction to the proposed reforms showed a bitter political divide.
“I found the announcement today to be short-sighted,” said Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.