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Biden mentioned immigration before discussing strong labor unions also caught my ear. As a former union steward, I’m not opposed to both. But I can see how these two policy priorities could come in direct conflict, especially over reforming the employment based immigration system https://twitter.com/CramonBPC/status/1296644393261178880
The real question is how a Biden administration would balance labor and business interests in these efforts. It’s good both sides actually have visions for what employment-based immigration should look like, especially when other stakeholders have not outlined similar visions
However, it’s going to take negotiating between them to hammer out a consensus over employment-based immigration. I think it’s possible: a flexible system that adjusts to labor markets and has viable temp to perm paths are good places to start. But the will needs to be there
Any employment-based reform will contend with family-based and humanitarian channels if it’s part of a broader reform package. And that’s going to be a trickier issue given that those paths have their own stakeholders who have reasonable fears about those numbers being reduced
So those are challenges that a Biden administration would face. It’s possible to get consensus on these issues but it’s going to take a lot of consensus building that the immigration space hasn’t flexed in a long time. And that’s really where the success of any reform effort lies
If you want some thinking from @BPC_Bipartisan on ideas for potential reform, here are a few resources. I wrote this report on temporary to permanent pathways in Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden to provide some ideas for similar systems in the U.S. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/works-in-progress/
@BPC_TBrown wrote this great piece on thinking about how we can have a flexible immigration system that adjusts to economic conditions https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/opinion-immigration-bans-economic-recovery-and-why-america-needs-a-more-flexible-immigration-system/
And @MicheleWaslin wrote this great report that examines state-based visa proposals and raises questions that policymakers should consider when thinking about implementing these programs in the United States https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/immigration-at-the-state-level-an-examination-of-proposed-state-based-visa-programs-in-the-u-s/
