Many Americans hold dear our identity as a “nation of immigrants” and the “land of opportunity.” But our immigration processes are convoluted, backlogged, and choked with would-be Americans desperate for a better life — while roughly 70 percent of US voters are opposed to increasing legal immigration levels.
How should we decide who can come? Could our system be more responsive to a changing economy and set new immigrants up for long-term success? What are the social and economic costs? Do we still aspire to be a “nation of immigrants” and the “land of opportunity” — and if so, what do we want the phrases to mean in our collective future?