Creating Cohesive, Coherent Immigration Policy

Abstract

Executive SummaryUS immigration policy has serious limitations, particularly when viewed from an economic perspective. Some shortcomings arise from faulty initial design, others from the inability of the system to adapt to changing circumstances. In either case, a reluctance to confront politically difficult decisions is often a contributing factor to the failure to craft laws that can stand the test of time. We argue that, as a result, some key aspects of US immigration policy are incoherent and mutually contradictorynew policies are often inconsistent with past policies and undermine their goals. Inconsistency makes policies less effective because participants in the immigration system realize that lawmakers face powerful incentives to revise policies at a later date. US policies regarding unauthorized immigration, temporary visas, and humanitarian migrants offer examples of incoherence and inconsistency. This article explores key features of an integrated, coherent immigration policy from an economic perspective and how policymakers could better attempt to achieve policy consistency across laws and over time.

National Interests and Common Ground in the US Immigration Debate: How to Legalize the US Immigration System and Permanently Reduce Its Undocumented Population

“…Policy coherence would also contribute to the success of legal immigration and enforcement polices, and reduce illegal immigration. As Orrenius and Zavodny (2017) have documented, the United States regularly creates immigration laws and procedures that predictably lead to the need for more visas, but that make no provision for meeting this demand. It also erects unnecessary barriers to available legal immigration procedures.…”