Think Immigration: l Wish People Knew Our Immigration Laws Haven’t Aged Well

We asked the members of the 2023-24 AILA Media Advocacy Committee to share the one thing they wished people understood about immigration. We present their insights in this blog post series.

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey’s final habit is “sharpening the saw.” I think about this habit frequently in my own life as I strive to reassess my knowledge and skills and to ensure that I am applying myself to my life in a strategic way. It would be really nice if Congress could think about this habit when considering our immigration laws, which are akin to a dull blade, barely functional for the originally intended role.

Our immigration laws have not seen a comprehensive update in nearly 35 years. Think about the changes in society and our workforce in that time. From a pure economic standpoint, demographic and technological shifts in the past three decades demand a more thoughtful and updated approach to immigration. Study after nonpartisan study reiterates the dire need for increased immigration to address workforce shortages, in particular in the caregiving professions as our population ages.

Here are some examples of how our immigration laws have been neglected as the world around them has evolved:

• The Department of Labor has refused to provide updated guidance on rules pertaining to workplace as the “workplace” has evolved to include remote work and a global workforce. They repeatedly refer businesses back to a 1994 memo for guidance on how to handle employees who work from home, sometimes from a different state.
• Indian-born green card applicants’ process to become permanent residents will take dramatically longer than other applicants – in many cases over a decade longer. This is because a quirk in the law around the allocation of green cards per country that was conceived of in 1965 and is totally irrational in the modern era of migration of talented Indian professionals since then.
• The 1996 law that trapped undocumented immigrants inside the United States initially had an “escape valve” called “245(i)” that permitted them to pay a fine and go through a laborious process to ultimately still become eligible for green cards in many cases. This law was extended once and never again, leaving undocumented spouses and parents of U.S. citizens without any meaningful path forward to legalize their status after spending a lifetime working and living in this country.
• There is a mind-bending thing called the “Visa Bulletin” that is a black box of secrets that allegedly allocates green cards in an orderly manner and is updated on a monthly basis based on the most recently updated quotas passed by Congress in 1990. The math utilized has become even more cryptic in recent years and continues to mystify attorneys, businesses, and green card applicants as they try to plan for the future. As a result of congressional neglect, in 2022, religious professionals suddenly were placed to the back of an incredibly long line and told to wait years longer than previously for their green cards. As a result of this congressional neglect, personal care assistants and other essential but non-professional workers desperately needed by long-term care facilities across the country are similarly waiting years longer than previously was the case. The unpredictable nature of the Visa Bulletin and the “green card backlogs” disrupts families and businesses trying to work within an atrophied system.

I’ve often said that my mantra is “Make Immigration Boring Again.” Our immigration laws cannot be boiled down to “the border crisis” or political hyperbole or dramatic photographs. Our immigration laws are complex, interrelated, and highly technical. If Congress could work together to create state-driven programs like the one suggested by these Republican governors last year, we could actually solve the challenges at the border and simultaneously meet workforce shortages. Individuals desperately seeking safety for their families would be thrilled to move to states where jobs await them and immediately contribute to local economies and communities.

We hope you enjoyed this post on Think Immigration! We’re always looking for fresh perspectives and voices to join our community of contributors. If you’re an AILA member passionate about immigration and have insights, stories, or expertise to share, we invite you to write for us. Visit our FAQs to learn more about how you can contribute to the conversation and make sure you bookmark our Think Immigration page so you don’t miss any blog posts.