Indians likely to benefit as Trump unveils new immigration policy for merit-based professionals
Washington:US President Donald Trump has unveiled a new merit and points-based immigration policy that replaces the existing green cards with 'Build America' visa and substantially hikes the quota for young and highly-skilled workers from 12 to 57 per cent, a move likely to benefit thousands of Indian professionals.
Trump said the current "broken" system of legal immigration has failed to retain and attract the brilliant talent from across the globe.
The president said he was proposing a merit-based immigration system wherein permanent legal residency would be given based on points for age, knowledge, job opportunities and civic sense, besides passing English and civic tests.
"We discriminate against genius. We discriminate against brilliance. We won't anymore once we get this passed, and we hope to get it passed as soon as possible. We want these exceptional students and workers to stay, flourish and thrive in America," Trump said.
"Under the senseless rules of the current system, we're not able to give preference to a doctor, a researcher, a student who graduated number one in his class from the finest colleges in the world, anybody," he said in a policy address in the Rose Garden of the White House.
As a result of the "broken" rules, the annual Green Card flow is mostly low-wage and low-skilled, Trump rued, adding that the newcomers compete for jobs against the most vulnerable Americans and put pressure on social safety net and generous welfare programmes.
Every year the US issues nearly 1.1 million green cards, which gives foreign nationals life-time permission to live and work in the US and a path to citizenship in five years.
Currently, most of the cards are issued based on family links and diversity visa, and a small section is given to people who are professionals and highly-skilled.
Trump said he wanted to change that and unveiled a new proposal.
"The biggest change we make is to increase the proportion of highly-skilled immigration from 12 per cent to 57 per cent, and we'd like to even see if we can go higher. This will bring us in line with other countries and make us globally competitive," Trump said.
The move is likely to benefit hundreds and thousands of Indian professionals and skilled workers whose current waiting period for a Green Card on an average is more than a decade.
The current system prioritise the immediate family of new Americans, spouses and children, he said.
"Our proposal fulfils our sacred duty to those living here today, while ensuring America remains a welcoming country to immigrants joining us tomorrow. We want immigrants coming in. We cherish the open door that we want to create for our country, but a big proportion of those immigrants must come in through merit and skill," he said.
The White House plan makes no change to the number of green cards allocated each year.
Trump said instead of admitting people through "random chance", he will establish a "simple and universal criteria" for admission to the US.
"No matter where in the world you're born, no matter who your relatives are, if you want to become an American citizen, it will be clear exactly what standard we ask you to achieve. It will be made crystal clear," Trump said.
"This will increase the diversity of immigration flows into our country. We will replace the existing green card categories with a new visa, the Build America visa - which is what we all want to hear," Trump said.
He said like Canada and many other countries, his administration seeks to create an "easy-to-navigate points-based" selection system.
"You will get more points for being a younger worker, meaning you will contribute more to our social safety net. You will get more points for having a valuable skill, an offer of employment, an advanced education, or a plan to create jobs," he said.
In the absence of such a system, America is losing people who want to start companies, and in many cases, are forced to leave the country and go back to where they came from, he said.
He said priority will also be given to higher-wage workers to ensure the American labour is never undercut.
"Finally, to promote integration, assimilation, and national unity, future immigrants will be required to learn English and to pass a civics exam prior to admission," Trump said.
According to the president, Americans with criminal records are getting a second chance at life in higher numbers than ever before. Unfortunately, the current immigration rules allow foreign workers to substitute for Americans seeking entry-level jobs, he said.
"So, foreign workers are coming in and they're taking the jobs that would normally go to American workers," Trump said.
"America's immigration system should bring in people who will expand opportunity for striving, low-income Americans, not to compete with those low-income Americans," he said.
Immediate reaction to the proposed reforms showed a bitter political divide.
Congressman Mike Rogers, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said a White House plan to boost border security and reform the immigration system is a welcome step.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer dubbed it as a political document.
"(This) isn't a serious attempt at immigration reform; if anything, it's a political document that is anti-immigration reform," he said.
"I found the announcement today to be short-sighted," said Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator and a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
