Upcoming Executive Order: Impacts of a Merit-Based Immigration System

On the 10th of July 2020, President Trump announced that he would work to transform U.S. immigration policy, noting that an executive order will be released in the next four weeks to create a merit-based immigration system. This transformation will shift U.S. immigration policy to a structure in which an alien applicant’s skills are the central factor analyzed when determining whether he or she may immigrate to the United States. Skills include things like education level, financial ability, and fluency in English, but no specific list of criteria have been released thus far by the White House. The proposed system will replace family-based immigration, which the U.S. has had for decades to unite alien individuals with their spouses and other family members on U.S. soil.

In recent interviews, President Trump described a sort of point scheme that would be utilized in this new merit-based system, in which an immigrant applicant accumulates points based on their specific circumstances (for instance, an alien will earn points if he or she has a job offer in the U.S.). This point-based evaluation method will determine if an alien may immigrate and when an alien may immigrate. The White House released a statement noting that establishing this system would further protect U.S. workers. This points-based immigration system already exists in Canada and Australia.

Certainly, such a system will consequently favor privileged alien individuals who have wealthy backgrounds and high levels of education over marginalized individuals attempting to flee poverty. The ethics of this can be debated.

During his interview with Telemundo, Trump announced that a provision concerning DACA will also be included in the upcoming executive order, although the president’s statement was unclear. During the interview, Trump said that the executive order would include a “road to citizenship” for DACA individuals. Immediately after the president’s interview, however, a White House spokesman issued a statement that the order would not be related to DACA. The Trump administration has tried to rescind DACA numerous times, which many business leaders recently warned would negatively affect the economy and disrupt the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past few weeks, the Trump administration has issued many executive orders that impact international students on F-1 visas, asylum seekers, and almost all green card applicants. Transforming the current U.S. family-based immigration system to a merit-based one plays into this narrative of restriction.