No agency pays attention to immigration needs

From Kerwin and Warren: “ There is no formal, independent body on which Congress or the executive can rely to:

• identify the nation’s evolving labor, family, or humanitarian needs that might be met through immigration, including on a state and local level;
• identify shortages in skills and occupations necessary to promote that nation’s economic competitiveness;
• assess the labor market contributions and other trajectories of those who enter via different categories of admission, including family-based visas;
• propose adjustments in legal admission levels and categories to reflect the nation’s needs, interests, and fluctuations in its economy;
• conduct research on the views of immigrants on US immigration policies in order to strengthen the legal immigration system, develop strategies to advance policy goals, and better understand and address noncompliance with the law (Ryo 2017); and
• champion access by researchers to relevant datasets in order to build a more extensive evidence base on which Congress and the executive can make policy judgments in this area

“A less threatening version of these ideas might be the United Kingdom’s Migration Advisory Committee, which is “an independent, non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body that advises the government on migration issues,” producing reports on the impacts of immigration, limits on immigration, and labor shortages within occupations.”

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