Immigration is Going Down Under, Unless We Follow Australia

President Trump’s RAISE Act is far from the disaster the mainstream media has made it out to be.

Immigration is going down under in more ways than one. Not only is President Trump planning to repeal our outdated immigration system, but he is also taking notes from our Australian allies. Similar to our Aussie friends, President Trump plans to enact a merit-based immigration system that will likely create more jobs for Americans and take an unnecessary burden off of American taxpayers, or in other words, Make America Great Again.

Ironically, late this summer in the City of Angels, I have had the pleasure of meeting some new Australian friends. They were here in the States on, as they say, “holiday” (vacation). We shared great stories about our pasts and made new memories over cool drinks and good old-fashioned banter. And after getting over my confusion and intrigue from hearing their unique vocabulary, such as calling sunglasses “sunnies” and calling McDonald’s “Maccas,” we started to talk politics. Aside from this, we discussed the benefits of Australia’s merit-based immigration system.

Over a poke-bowl in Hollywood, my Aussie friends explained that merit-based immigration reduces financial burdens on public resources by welcoming already employable immigrants. Immigrants in Australia are usually employable because they have to meet certain qualifications before they are given entry: proficiency in English, education, labor skills, work history, and more. With such qualifications, they assimilate easily, find employment quickly, and pay their share in taxes. Thus, rather than placing a burden on society, they contribute to making it better.

In America, we have long struggled with the tensions that come with immigration; low-income citizens are concerned with job security and a copious number of citizens are worried about extinguishing already-limited public funds. Therefore, President Trump’s plan to implement a similar merit-based system in the United States is brilliant. Trump’s proposed reform would give priority to immigrants who are educated, fluent in English, and have lucrative job opportunities or significant American investments. This plan will likely assist current Americans by introducing people into the U.S. economy that will not ask the government for resources, but instead provide wealth. With more middle-class immigrants, lower-income Americans will likely not have to be as concerned about their job security.