I don't see an issue with allowing temporary work visas for specialty occupations, particularly when the country sending the workers allows U.S. citizens to have similar work visas.
That's nice, but I do have an issue with it. Not a single person should be allowed inside our borders until such time as we fix our house and get our shit together. Companies and farmers are going to have to pay for American labor.
Issuing temporary visas to Irish worker with specialty skills has nothing to do with illegals swarming across our southern border.
Yes, I know. However, I just posted that this country needs a moratorium on ALL immigration until such time as we get our house in order.
ALL immigration means every single human living outside the USA. The only people entering this country should be tourists.
Well, that is a big loophole. Tourists can also over stay their visas.
I'm all for legal visas for temporary work and legal immigration. I don't think we should punish people for playing by the rules - these folks are not the ones crossing the border illegally.
It is more than just an illegal issue. At present, we cannot pay for the infrastructure that we have in place, and much of it is beginning to crumble because of the planners of that infrastructure built in a maintenance schedule based upon the rate of growth of normal populations. They did not factor into the upkeep things like an unreasonable 1 million immigrants per year growth rate. All of those people place stress on an already stressed system. This is true of not only the physical infrastructure but the social one as well.
These people shouldn't be punished, but neither should they be rewarded. They will simply have to either make a better life for themselves where they are or make a better life somewhere else that is NOT the United States. We do NOT owe anyone a right of immigration to our country.
If, as you seem to imply, the US cannot manage without importing people, then that would serve as a good incentive to get our act together and fix our country's financial house.
Either way, it is My opinion that we should not permit anyone but tourists into our country. As for them overstaying their visitation visas, well, we would have just that many fewer to keep track of if we do away with all immigration. In addition, tourists bring a side benefit in that they spend money which means economic activity without the burden of social support to them.