4.06.2018

THE "RAISE" ACT

Whereas, I believe that I'm monitoring the White House, Congress and the Justice Department quite carefully, it does appear that I fell down on my self-imposed job. It's been a huge job so I'm going to be relatively kind to myself about this most recent failure and, to make up for it, explain and discuss the RAISE Act with you. This one slipped right by me but, considering it was introduced in the Senate on February 13, 2017, very shortly after Donald Trump's inaugural and, thus, a period of time in which I was hiding under my bed, I remained ignorant of it until this morning.

The RAISE Act sounds fairly inocuous and, one hopes, might even be uplifting, but, sadly, that is not the case. RAISE is the acronym for "Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act." It was sponsored by Republicans Tom Cotton and David Perdue.  The bill was re-introduced in August of 2017 as a revision, and, as we speak, is residing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Roger Wicker joined Cotton and Perdue as a co-sponsor in November, and the bill is now referred to as S.B. 1720.

S.B. 1720 is designed to reduce the level of legal immigration by 50%; impose a cap of 50,000 refugee admissions per year; and, end the visa diversity lottery. As one can imagine, Donald Trump supports this bill.  One of the methods of lowering legal immigration will be to allow only minor children and spouses of U.S. citizens to apply for permanent lawful residency status. Parents and siblings will no longer qualify. Under this pending legislation, Melania Trump's parents would not have been allowed into our country which, I think, would have made Barron Trump very sad. I've read that he is especially close to his Grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Knavs. And, face it...every kid needs a loving grandparent--especially if that kid lives in the White House.

Donald Trump would tell us that this bill will increase both economic growth and wages. Economists, on the other hand--1,400 of them who range across the political spectrum,  predict a negative impact on GDP growth. The Cato Institute (funded by the Koch brothers) has said, surprisingly,that the legislation will do nothing to boost skilled immigration. "The average American worker is more likely to lose than to gain from immigration restrictions..." per economist Giovanni Peri, Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of California, Davis.

But, let's bring this just a little closer to home, by looking at the point system included in S.B. 1720 which will be the determining factor as to whether or not a person is even allowed to submit an immigrant application. Could you or I qualify? We need at least 30 points each; let's find out:

#1--Age: Considering the allocation of points, a person is most attractive to the U.S. if he/she is between the ages of 26 and 30. Being in your upper 20's gives you 10 points. Above age 51, you receive no points. However, if you happen to be 75, you, at least, don't lose points. The Aging Generalist gets 0 points.

#2--Formal Education: These points range from 1 to 13. A high school degree gives you 1 point while a U.S. Professional Degree or Doctoral STEM yields 13.  My Kansas State University BS degree gives me 6 points. Had I graduated from Oxford in England or the Sorbonne in France, I would only have  earned 5 points. Much to my surprise I'm one-up in this game. Aging Generalist gets 6 points.

#3--English Language Proficiency: This appears to be measured in deciles. Frankly, I have no idea what a decile is in this context, but it appears deciles are connected to the required English Proficiency Test. If I do extremely well I will be in the 10th decile (and I'm very confident I will do that) and, thus, rack up 12 points.  Aging Generalist is taking 12 points.

#4--Extraordinary Achievement:  It looks like this is the category that will  separates the men from the boys. It is possible to amass 40 points in this category alone, thus guaranteeing a person's right to submit an immigration application on the spot.  For that, however, you will need both extraordinary achievements: 1--To be a Nobel Laureate (25 points) and/or 2--To be an Olympic Medalist (15 points.) Of course, you could do well with only one of these extraordinary achievements, but why stop there? Go for the Gold. Aging Generalist, sadly, receives 0 points.

#5--Job Offer/Highly Compensated Employment: This section allocates points based on your annual salary. It must be at least 150% above the median household income in your state of employment (5 points) topping out at 300% (13 points). Obviously, that means I would have to make between $84,871 and $169,743 in my state of Arizona in order to receive any points at all. Maybe I could move to Mississippi where I would only need to earn between $65,293 and $130,587. Whatever you do, don't move to Washington DC. (I know...it's not a state but it hands out points) However, you will need an income of $125,073 to receive the low end 5 points. Since the Aging Generalist is retired, she receives 0 points. 

#6--Investment and Active Management of New Enterprise, AKA The Kushner Addendum: If you will be investing at least $1.3 million,  but less than $1.8 million in a U.S. New Commercial Enterprise; and, maintain that investment for three years; and, play an active role in managing the New Commercial Enterprise as your primary occupation, you will receive 6 points. I'm not terribly impressed by that, as you can receive 6 points merely by being between the ages of 18 and 21. But 6 points is 6 points.  However, if you invest at least $1.8 million in a U.S. New Commercial Enterprise; and, maintain that investment for three years; and, play an active role in managing the New Commercial Enterprise as your primary occupation, you will receive 12 points.  And 12 points gets you a lot closer to 30 than 6 points. Once again The Aging Generalist receives 0 points.

#7--Valid Pre-existing Offer of Admission Under Family Preference Category: 2 points. Aging Generalist does not have such an offer. She receives 0 points.

Aging Generalist Total=18 points.

Obviously, there would be no immigration application for me...or those of my ilk. Yes, the requirements of the RAISE Act are an interesting amalgam and, dare I say, favor those among us who already have advantage, money, and education. It's not a surprise but, for me, it is a disappointment. I thought we were better than this. I thought we were kinder than this. I was wrong. I wrote this piece in 2017--the same year the legislation died in Congress. It came to life again in 2019, but must have gotten lost in someone's desk. Perhaps that's just as well. 

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free; the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."  Emma Lazarus in 1883