New Immigration Bill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/...ation_congress

Well, I'm not going to reiterate the entire article here, but there are some startling shifts in policy outlined in the proposed bill.

Most fundamentally (even more so than sealing borders, granting temporary work visas, or allowing for limited amnesty and/or green cards) the bill shifts the focus away from familial relations and towards employment skills as the criteria for immigration.

Considering that we are (If I recall correctly) the only industrialized nation in the world that bases immigration decisions largely on who you are related to, this is a long overdue change. A country is defined by its voters and citizen pool, and we want the best and the brightest favored above all else.

**on an interesting side note, most folks assume that individuals born in the United States are citizens automatically. The issue has never been decided by the Supreme Court. Instead, it is simply a federal administrative decision. Yes, the Constitution sounds clear, but other equally "clear" provisions have been construed in rather strange fashions before.