I will be voting against this bill because merit-based immigration betrays the foundations of this country. If this bill had been law in the 1960s, I would not exist today. This is not immigration reform, it's immigration regress. I encourage my colleagues to vote against this bill.
How is this regression and betraying the foundations of the country?
This is literally the same system that Atlasia's neighbours to the north (Canada) use; almost verbatim (in fact it might be slightly more permissive than Canada in terms of the points). Skills based immigration is also successfully used in many other countries like Australia or New Zealand; using similar systems to the one in this bill.
Finally the bill does keep a path to citizenship via family reunification.
I guess if you want to specify the situation of say, refugees; it is fine; I thought if anything the bill would keep the status quo in that area as of currently written.
Those countries have different histories and priorities than we do. Our entire history is enriched by waves of immigrants coming from various countries and continents. Our status as a global super power standing for democracy and individual rights necessitates we maintain an ability to compete with China economically and geopolitically. Limiting immigration threatens this nation in many ways. People who lack the skills outlined in this bill are still valuable contributing members of society and artificial boundaries limiting their opportunity isn't fair or beneficial.
Keep in mind, what this bill says is "you are lucky you were born here because if you weren't, we wouldn't want you". That's a horrible message to send.
