{"id":14002,"date":"2017-04-17T16:28:08","date_gmt":"2017-04-17T20:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=14002"},"modified":"2018-12-28T12:53:13","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:53:13","slug":"american-voters-prefer-merit-based-immigration-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2017\/04\/17\/american-voters-prefer-merit-based-immigration-system\/","title":{"rendered":"American Voters Prefer Merit-Based Immigration System"},"content":{"rendered":"
If nepotism isn\u2019t tolerated in the workplace, why is it the cornerstone of the United States\u2019 immigration system?<\/em><\/p>\n Nepotism is widely considered an unfair and unethical practice in the United States. Most businesses make a special point to ensure employees that they do not practice nepotism when hiring new workers. For congressional members and many other federal agencies, it is illegal. 5 U.S.C. Section 3110, prohibits<\/a> congressional members \u201cfrom appointing, promoting, or recommending for appointment or promotion any \u2018relative\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Merit-based employment a basic cornerstone of capitalism. Not only is it accepted as the standard practice, it\u2019s celebrated as a means of ensuring equal opportunity in the workplace.<\/p>\n This ethical concept should equally be applied to immigration. However, the current rules favor nepotism over merit. According to The Federation for American Immigration Reform, only 7 percent of green cards currently issued are based on skill, while 93 percent are based on other criteria such as family chain migration<\/a>. Because of this, the federal government rejects many well-qualified candidates in favor of the extended families of current immigrants \u2013 without regard to their qualifications.<\/p>\n Americans want potential immigrants to earn their spot in society, just as they have. In a survey conducted by Rasmussen on April 3-4 and released last week, a plurality of voters (47 percent) favored<\/a> \u201cmoving to a merit-based system for legal immigration.\u201d Only 32 percent preferred to \u201ckeep the existing family-based system.\u201d<\/p>\n