US needs talented immigrants

An interesting opinion piece. I did not vote the way he did, but I agree with the rest of this. We need immigrants, especially skilled, trained people. DP

By David J. Chapman, president of Chapman Immigration Law Group

It is the day after the election and we have President-elect Barack Obama. As a Republican, I wanted Sen. John McCain to win, but that is not what happened. However, on the day after the election, we must put aside the Republican and Democratic party labels and simply be Americans. We need to realize that we are all in this together. On Jan. 20, 2009, we will have President Obama, and not Democratic President Obama. I will consider him my president too. I consider all the early attacks counterproductive to the growth and prosperity of the nation. I also consider the reaction of Wall Street to be less than acceptable. Give the man a chance. Let us see how he does. If we take a stubborn approach and are adamantly opposed to him from day one then it becomes all the more difficult for us to unite as a nation behind the president in the future. He may do very well.

I cannot say I will agree with the president-elect on every issue, but there are issues I do agree with him on. I believe my party made a mess of immigration law. Sky-high government filing fees have imposed hardship on young families and business. The president-elect has openly recognized this ridiculous skyward trend in fees, and has made it an issue to change that. It is an issue I will be watching closely.

At the same time, the president-elect has pledged to make more professional and specialty worker visas available to business, which is exactly what we should want. Many times in the past, Alan Greenspan has said that in order to finance the debt and benefits for the aging population that accompanies the baby boom, we need to relax the restraints on immigration. Fewer children in our society means fewer future adult workers and a greater tax burden on those who enter the work force in the future. I am sure that many Americans would be more open to immigration if they realized the tax burden their children will have to carry in the future just to keep the country running. We need people.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.