Jared Kushner – From Middle East Dealmaker To Immigration Fixer?

By Felicia J. Persaud

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. May 24, 2019: Jared Kusher, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, seems in the President’s eyes, to be simply an expert on all things. In reality, he is actually a master of none.

From making a deal in the Middle East – (we know how that turned out) – to now fixing America’s broken immigration system – the holes on the so-called expert plan is as numerous as Swiss cheese.

If Trump’s new immigration proposal disclosed on Thursday, May 16th is the Kushner fix, then the so-called solution looks like it will go the same way as the Middle East fix – implode!

The main trust under the plan from the President’s son-in-law and adviser, the proposal would create a system to prioritize highly skilled immigrants. This is supposedly the so-called “merit” plan that Trump has been touting for the past three or so years.

Details as is usual with this administration are sketchy, but officials said they are still working those out. However, based on what was revealed: the Kusher-Trump plan would prioritize merit-based immigration and seek to attract and retain the best and brightest immigrants from around the world and stem the flow of low-wage labor.

It also would limit the number of people who could get green cards by seeking asylum or based on family ties, and eliminate the so-called ‘green card lottery.’

While this ‘merit’ plan has some merit if you look at the way immigration systems like Canada and New Zealand run, the plan does nothing to help highly skilled Dreamers and those living in the U.S. for years, with TPS or Deferred Departure status, or those just simply out of status or undocumented.

What the plan should be doing is offering the option to those brilliant skilled immigrants who are living in the country to “self-sponsor” and secure a green card.

Of course they must know English and can even pay a fine for overstaying a visa after passing a criminal background check, but this option allows for a fix of the crisis of undocumented immigration within the borders.

This is a plan that I am sure will be supported on all sides as it’s a pipe dream to think 11 million people can be deported out of the country, even if they broke no real laws.

Especially since it was El Trumpeto himself who said the “country is full.”

Now Trump has changed his tune again saying: “We want immigrants coming in; we cherish the open door, but a big proportion of those immigrants should come in through merit and skill.”

How is it now that this Kushner-Trump plan is now read to open up to more immigration from around the world without fixing the problem within the borders?

Unless of course the thinking is that “skilled” immigrants with “merit” are of a lighter melanin and live outside of the country and the Dreamers, undocumented, TPS and Deferred Departure immigrants are without “skill” and “merit” because they are largely brown and black?

Trump and Kusher have missed a major opportunity with this proposal. This could have been a defining moment for this administration if they had taken the time to speak to real change agents and people who understand the issue and can offer real solutions.

Instead, I agree with many lawmakers, especially Democrats who say it is nothing but DOA – Dead on Arrival.

The writer is publisher at NewsAmericasNow