Congress has proven unable to fix our outdated and ineffective immigration system for decades. As the issue of immigration becomes increasingly divisive in this country, it is paramount that Congress prioritizes its repair.
Instead of focusing on some of the largest and most controversial aspects of immigration policy—like building a border wall—focusing on narrow, pragmatic, and incremental immigration reforms that transcend partisan politicking is a good first step to reform.
To this end, the Niskanen Center authored a list of 20 smaller changes to improve the way our country manages immigration policy. All lawmakers can find at least one reform to champion. The 20 reforms outlined in this paper provide a blueprint for a productive start to that process. We explore pragmatic fixes to legal immigration processes, simplifications of our humanitarian immigration system, and improvements to the cost effectiveness of various immigration channels.
Click here to view the report.