Biden Admin halts deportations of all illegals except criminals. A bunch of new workers for the staffing shortages? Am I missing something? It seems like a good thing to me.
This is a big country, we have room.
Certainly the tightened restrictions on both legal and illegal immigration over the past twenty years coupled with the pandemic have demonstrated that there are a lot of jobs that Americans don't do/ won't do anymore. Whole industries are collapsing for want of illegal workers.
We are a nation of, by, and for immigrants- the most diverse nation on Earth and the most prosperous because of that diversity.
I don't argue that we should therefore simply employ untracked immigrants illegally- quite the opposite. I think the North American trading block should be expanded to include labor and that immigration should be controlled by all three countries at the limits of North America. Mexicans and Canadians should be permitted to legally work and reside in the US, pay taxes, access healthcare, education, etc without changing their citizenship. Americans can likewise seek long term employment in Mexico or Canada without changing citizenship. All three nations share the security of North America. Overland immigration is checked at the short, easy to secure Southern Border of Mexico and three navies secure overseas immigration.
I would like to see more immigration to the US but on a less egalitarian standard. We should set the standard high and according to the short term needs of business. If we need more nurses, gardeners, and civil engineers then we prioritize those skill sets in immigration. I think we should worry less about setting quotas by nation and concentrate on filling gaps in the labor market, although keeping immediate families together is a priority. To this end, big business should be doing most of the recruiting and sponsorship of immigrants.
As has always been true in the US, illegal immigration can be halted at any time simply be locking up the employers who pay the table rather than the employees who receive under the table payments. The employers are the ones breaking the laws their business depends on while employees are desperate. Ultimately, illegal immigration is a phony problem that can be solved tomorrow by going to the source of the crime.