Does Immigration Explain Skill-Stagnation?

You’d be forgiven for missing the key sentence on immigration reform in President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night.

A cornerstone of both the President's and Senate plans for immigration reform involve increasing the number of visas available for highly skilled workers that have been recruited by American companies. 

From 1998 to 2003, the U.S. increased the number of visas made available to highly skilled foreigners who wanted residency. According to Rutgers professor Carl Lin's 2011 paper on the impact of the measures, Congress and President Clinton largely did this at the behest of Silicon Valley, which desperately needed more skilled workers. However, by 2004, the  H-1B visa cap crashed back down to pre-1998 levels, essentially ignoring the rapid development of the consumer technology industry. 

MANY Americans probably do not realise how dependent they are, or will be, on illegal immigrants. It is a familiar story when it’s revealed that a wealthy politician or political appointee once employed an illegal immigrant to do housework or work as a nanny. But even for those of us without an army of servants, the services low-skill immigrants provide looking after our children or caring for an aging parent play an important role in our economy.

People with more education tend to have lower unemployment rates than those with less education. The jobless rate for workers with a BA degree or higher was only 3.8% in March versus 11.1% for those with less than a high school diploma and 7.6% for those with a diploma, but no college.

Sarah Mulley has written an intelligent and reasonable piece on immigration. And this is my problem; this is an issue on which intelligent people should not be reasonable.