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Looking at the United States, a very large group of immigrants (as a percentage of the native population with similar skills) is made up of young, highly educated workers, mainly scientists and engineers. After 45, few people choose to leave their home countries. The second group is made up of the young: individuals between 20 and 40 years of age have the highest propensity to migrate. They have emigration rates four to five times higher than workers with no college education, and in poor countries, they are 10 to 12 times more likely to migrate. The first group consists of the highly educated, in particular, college-educated individuals. for Economic Reasons?Ībundant research, based on comprehensive data on net migration to rich countries, has shown that two groups have a much higher propensity to migrate internationally. As of today, however, due to political polarization, it seems unlikely that the House will pass the bill, despite its potential benefits for the U.S. immigration system and deals with the problem of undocumented immigrants. It addresses most of the relevant issues plaguing the U.S. Still, it could become the most important piece of legislation on immigration of the last 50 years. Senate seemed set to change all that, by passing Senate Bill 744, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” The bill is the result of compromise, and is therefore imperfect.
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Attracted by employment, but unable to secure a legal permit, 11 million people work and have set down roots in the United States, despite great uncertainty and little protection. The misalignment between restrictive laws and economic incentives has also caused the population of undocumented immigrants to expand rapidly. These laws have substantially limited immigration for work-related reasons, both among the highly educated (scientists and engineers) and the less educated (construction, agricultural, and personal service workers). immigration laws remain outdated, cumbersome, and rather restrictive.
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While immigration flows, if managed efficiently and flexibly, would bring strong opportunities for economic growth, U.S. Moreover, according to Gallup World Polls, there are about 150 million more people who say that they would migrate to the United States (from every country on the planet) if they had the opportunity. With its 41 million immigrants, the United States is by far the largest magnet for international migrants. Young, motivated, and often highly educated people are on the move, and many of them would like to come to the United States. While the “Immigration and Nationality Act” of 1965 abolished national quotas and allowed the flow of immigrants to resume, it has only been during the last 30 years that the mobility of the world’s people has increased significantly. That wave of immigration was ended by the very restrictive immigration laws passed in 1929. During the last decades of the 19 th century, immigrants contributed substantially, providing labor for the industrialization and electrification of the country. Immigration has always been a formidable engine of economic and demographic growth for the United States.
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