State-Based Visas: A Federalist Approach to Immigration Reform

Today Cato released a new policy analysis about the feasibility of state-based visas. Such a visa would allow states more say in immigration policies and generally a more flexible visa regime guided by local conditions.

The Cato Institute writes:

The immigration reform debate is increasingly polarized and has policymakers looking for new and innovative reform options. State- or regionally managed guest-worker visa programs, in addition to federal visas, should be considered as part of any immigration reform. Under such a system, individual states could manage and experiment with different guest-worker visa systems designed to suit their particular economic circumstances. Canada and Australia have regional visa programs that have worked well, aided economic growth, and slowed population decline in some areas. Their approaches could be adapted to the United States. This panel will address the potential economic, political, and legal issues that come with regionally-managed visas. Please join us for an in-depth discussion of the costs and benefits of state and locally managed guest-worker visas in the video below.

Click here to view the Cato Institute's State-Based Visas: A Federalist Approach to Reforming U.S. Immigration Policy.

The video below is of the debate the Cato Institute sponsored and features Brandon Fuller, Deputy Director and Research Scholar, NYU Stern Urbanization Project; Reihan Salam, columnist and National Review Institute policy fellow; and Shikha Dalmia, columnist and Reason Foundation Senior Analyst; and is moderated by Alex Nowrasteh, Immigration Policy Analyst, Cato Institute.