I seldom agree with Tom Friedman (New York Times columnist). I am, however, with him a hundred percent on this one. Immigration is the lifeblood of America from its founding. It is even more critical today, given the low birth rates and aging population, and perennially poor showing in math and science competitions.
Job retraining and organizational restructuring can help mitigate the productivity gap in the short run but have limits. Economic growth demands endogenous innovation. Immigration of all types and from all socioeconomic classes is the only way out of the talent and financial deficits confronting us.
We need to remind ourselves that immigation is a multi-generational phenomenon. The fruit picker's child may be the next discoverer of the cure for cancer. Immigration reform should move only in one direction, which is to ensure that the doors remain wide open, permanently.
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