Toward a More Federalist Employment-Based Immigration System

Abstract

In this age of international terrorism, the American immigration system is caught between our national security needs and a socioeconomic imperative to remain a "nation of immigrants." Yet the system can be reconceived and administered in a way that further increases economic opportunities while better protecting the homeland. To that end, this Note advocates reshaping our economic immigration system into a cooperative federalist system in which the federal government allows states more responsibility for selecting employment-based immigrants while simultaneously shifting greater federal resources into immigration services and enforcement.