The co-sponsors are a mix of mostly left-wing groups, and the bill is a hodgepodge of different ideas and political compromises all too common in today’s Washington. Consequently, few are enthusiastic about it, and many will be outraged.

Republican opposition leaders state that it would exacerbate the unemployment problem during a recession. That economic fallacy, and the readiness with which it is believed, could kill the good in this bill.

Besides a genuine desire to overhaul our flawed immigration system, there are other motivations to introduce CIR ASAP at this time. The health care bill is in serious trouble, and Democrats need a distraction. They also are worried about the midterm election. Throwing a bone to the pro-immigration camp, particularly Hispanics, could help increase turnout and shift votes to Democrats. Regardless, CIR ASAP is the beginning of another long political battle that will stretch long into next year.

Many of today’s highly skilled immigrants come in on H-1B visas. Rules and caps on the number of these visas issued each year hamper economic growth and entrepreneurship. H-1Bs and former H-1Bs have been in on the ground floor of new firms. As of 2008, one-third of all companies founded in Silicon Valley had Indian or Chinese immigrants as co-founders.

Moreover, expanding enterprises rely on H-1B workers to fill needed slots. According to the nonpartisan National Foundation for American Policy, each H-1B visa requested increases employment by five workers. Foreign skilled workers need support and management, so they typically do not substitute, but complement American labor. A firm willing to employ H-1B foreign workers employs Americans alongside them.

The CIR ASAP should just eliminate the cap for H-1B visas or, as has been suggested, recycle unused H-1B visas from the past. Instead, it creates a government agency to suggest “market” changes to the system. Markets do a much better job as markets.

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Immigrants come and will continue to come because of economic opportunity. Yet typically it takes 15 to 20 years for a low-skilled laborer to get a greencard – if he’s lucky. Highly skilled workers and H-1B visa applicants fare hardly better. Anyone ambitious enough to seek a better life in a new country isn’t going to wait for a labyrinthine bureaucracy.

Without a legal path to entry, many will continue to break the law and the economy will continue to suffer. CIR ASAP offers some positive reforms, but the politically motivated E-Verify program would be a disaster.

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