For as long as America has existed, we have prided ourselves on our shared values rather than a shared ethnicity.
One can live in Italy but not be considered Italian. But in America, one can be American by simply assimilating to our shared values. The immigrant from Mexico who just earned his citizenship and loves America is just as American as me, a person whose family has lived in America for generations. The ideals and values that make Americans American allure thousands of immigrants every year. These immigrants contribute immeasurably to our culture, with immigrants who come to the United States being more patriotic and family-oriented than many.
These immigrants also contribute to our economy. Numerous states, such as the state of Utah, for example, are seeing major economic growth and new jobs coupled with low cyclical unemployment, meaning there is a high demand for labor and a low supply of laborers. This is where immigration would normally fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, our immigration system makes this difficult. That is why Rep. John Curtis, along with Rep. Zoe Lofgren, introduced bipartisan immigration reform in the form of the EAGLE Act.
The Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment Act, or EAGLE Act, is a remarkable piece of legislation that overhauls our immigration system to one that places importance on employable merit rather than country of origin. It does this by phasing out our current 7% cap on employment-based immigration per country and raising it to 15%. The last time we made an overhaul as significant as this to our employment-based visa granting system was in 1990 when the 7% per-country cap was established. Curtis said that “the bipartisan EAGLE Act will create a more fair employment-based visa system by eliminating per-country limitations and creating a first-come, first-served system focused on merit instead of their country of origin.”
Our current flawed system treats every country the same regardless of population. This disparity hurts our economy. It means an immigrant with great qualifications seeking an immigration visa from the U.S. could be denied said visa because of the 7% cap. They might then be lured away from the U.S. by foreign competitors such as Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, which are taking in more highly skilled immigrants than the U.S. By phasing out our current 7% cap system and moving toward an employment-based system, we open ourselves up to more highly skilled workers to fill vacant positions.
Seldom do we hear the terms “immigration” and “bipartisan” together in a meaningful way. However, with its strong bipartisan support, the EAGLE Act could be codified into law. The co-sponsors see a bipartisan solution that doesn’t cave to polarizing partisans.
Currently, 95% of employment-based immigrants live in the U.S. on temporary visas. The EAGLE Act would help get highly skilled immigrants permanent visas so that they too can plan for the long term. Both Republicans and Democrats have said that our immigration system is broken and needs reform. If Congress passes the EAGLE Act, the U.S. can embrace the enrichment that high-skilled and family-oriented immigrants offer.
Ian C. Linnabary is a freshman at the University of Utah and a blog contributor at Gen Z GOP.
