US to hike H1B visas, merit will count for green cards

[JDPriestly]

75. I'm not opposed to immigration, but it should be first-come-first-serve.

Many Americans do not realize the huge sacrifices their ancestors made when they came here.

Clearly, African-Americans lost their culture, their families, their friends and their human dignity and have had to fight for those things here.

I am not African-American, but my mother has a diary that was written by one of my ancestors on the ship over here. They buried a child at sea as they crossed the ocean. They brought a few belongings, traveled across the country and settled, never to see their families, friends, and homelands again.

It was not easy for these people. Today, when immigrants come, if they come legally, they can hope to visit family. Mail and internet contact including Skype keep us close to family overseas if we have any.

If immigration had been awarded as a prize for those who were the most meritorious, many of our ancestors would not have come. Our country would not be as diverse as it is. We would not have the democratic traditions that we have developed.

I strongly oppose these privilege visas. Let people come in, but give no preferences based on skill or education. Let everyone wait in line. American visas and ultimately American citizenship are great privileges but should not be just for the well educated or rich or well connected.

We need diversity in our immigration.

If we are going to increase the numbers of these visas, then in my opinion, we should give the Statue of Liberty back to France. It stands for nothing.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/liberty/lazaruspoem.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty