Proposal - Designing Immigration Policy

Doris Meissner Deborah W. Meyers Micheal Fix Executive Summary Immigration i s the oldest and newest story of the American experience.The same dreams of freedom and opportunity that galvanized people to cross the ocean hundreds of years ago draw people to America today. Immigration has enabled America’s growth and prosperity, and helped shape our dynamic American society. Yet just as it has been a vital ingredient in America’s success, immigration generates changes that can be unsettling and divisive. Immigration is essential to advancing vital American interests in the 21st century. To maximize the benefits and mitigate the strains caused by

Key findings: Needs are not only for highly skilled but also for lesser skilled migrants (most of the movements as a result of EU enlargement have been for lesser skilled jobs; a Canadian survey of SMEs revealed that most labour needs for these enterprises were not for university graduates for for lower skill levels – trades and technical but also labourers; labour migration into southern Europe has been largely into lesser skilled jobs) Some high-educated migrants arriving without jobs, as in the supply-driven skilled migration systems of Australia and Canada, have difficulty finding jobs in occupations corresponding to their