Restricting legal immigration won’t fix America’s immigration system

An independent analysis argues that the immigration system remains dysfunctional after decades of failed reform, and that current White House policy has intensified enforcement while narrowing legal channels rather than fixing either. The piece notes the U.S. admits far fewer permanent immigrants per capita than peer nations like Canada, and that family-based cases can take decades — siblings of citizens from Mexico are only now seeing 2001 applications processed.

Cited restrictions include an indefinite travel ban on 39 countries, a visa freeze covering 75 more, a new $100,000 fee for companies sponsoring foreign talent, and suspension of most refugee admissions except for white South Africans. The analysis also flags attempts to end Temporary Protected Status for about a million people, including Syrian TPS holders concentrated in Michigan, and deportations to third countries such as the reported transfer of Venezuelans to a facility in El Salvador described as a torture site.

The analysis concludes that deterrence-only strategies have historically failed to reduce migration demand, instead pushing people toward unauthorized or unsafe routes, and that polling shows most Americans favor legal pathways and a path to citizenship for those who qualify.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.