Just to be clear, I am in favor of substantial increases in skilled immigration, as well as shortening the visa->green card->citizenship route as much as is pra

Just to be clear, I am in favor of substantial increases in skilled immigration, as well as shortening the visa->green card->citizenship route as much as is practical for those who have a clear capacity to contribute to our society and express a desire to do so as citizens. I'm only trying to explain some of the politics as I understand them. One other factor is the preceived threat of wage imbalances acting against U.S. non-naturalized citizens ("We'll be flooded with H1B's who will work for 25% less and undercut our sons and daughters!"). I suspect that the "keep your job or you're gone" nature of H1B visas creates much more downward pressure on wages than increasing the supply of skilled workers does. Regardless, we want growth in industries that require skilled workers. I'd rather have 5 million software engineers in this country making $80K on average than 3 million making $100K. But there are those who argue that we should be selective and prioritize towards those who would contribute most. I can see the other side's argument about fairness, but to me it's a slam dunk that you invite in people that are likely to produce economically a large multiple of what they consume in benefits. I'm happy to figure out what to do about unskilled labor, too, but coupling the two seems counterproductive.