Let Leaders Lead the Way on Immigration

There was a time within the memory of everyone reading this article that the United States of America was the Mecca for education. From the chapter “The Closing of America?”, Richard Florida’s book “The Flight of the Creative Class” provides documentation of the successful impact of terrorism on American mentality. Studies conducted in 2004, document a drop in applications at U.S. graduate schools of 28%. Around 47% of higher education organizations reported drops in foreign applications. Rejection rates for H-1B visas increased from 9.5% to 17.8% following 9/11/2001. Visas issued from 2001-2002 dropped 55%.

What happened to the proverbial American Melting Pot? The Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave is turning into a gated community and it seems that the federal government is holding the keys to the gates. The creative class and the innovators must be permitted to stay here or come here, if we are going to compete globally.

A civilization, a national or even regional economy is like a pond. The life which grows in that pond depends on a circulation of fresh water and nutrients. At their peak, the Romans achieved this through conquest, the acquisition of slaves, the best of which were assimilated into the society, and even though wearing a tunic rather than a toga, were carefully listened to by the thought-leaders plus building really good roads and aqueducts and infrastructure. And together, the pattern of circulation and refreshing was maintained. Remove that circulation and the pond will die.

This is the time to lead the way through reform of the immigration system in this country beginning with student visas. We have shown the rest of the world the potential, but we are now locking out or requiring the best and the brightest to take their skills elsewhere. It is time to freshen the pond!