Join us Tuesday, April 30 for a brief reception at 6:00 PM followed by the NexPoint Tower Scholars, Class of 2025 Client Presentation 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM

Facilitating Economic Growth: The Urgent Need for Reform in U.S. Immigration Policy for Low-Skilled Workers

Place: James M. Collins Executive Education Center | Crum Auditorium

Parking: Binkley Parking Garage (Map and Pass will be sent in the Know Before You Go E-mail)

Faculty:

Dr. James Hollifield, Director of the SMU Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs, Professor in the Department of Political Science, and Ora Nixon Arnold Fellow in International Political Economy.

Dr. Pia Orrenius, Vice President and Senior Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Colin Powell Teaching Fellow

Presenters:

Tower Scholars, Class of 2025

Client: 
Mr. Ariel Ruiz Soto, Senior Policy Analyst and Dr. Andrew Selee, President
Attending Virtually for the Migration Policy Institute (MPI)

Research:

The client policy presentation will examine options for the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) to propose a structure for closer integration of North American labor markets. As a nonpartisan think tank devoted to improving immigration and integration policies through research and analysis, dialogue, and the development of new ideas for migration management, this project is closely aligned with MPI’s mission and purpose. The project centers on revising US immigration policy to allow for greater integration of regional labor supply and demand, particularly as concerns low and mid- and certain high-skilled workers that were excluded under the USMCA Agreement. In demonstrating the benefits of greater integration of labor markets in North America, the proposal first will focus on the current state and outlook for labor supply in each of the three countries, describing the projected growth rates as well as the composition of the workforce in each country with respect to age, skill, and educational attainment. Second the study will investigate current and projected labor demand in the North American region and identify potential bottlenecks for meeting demand, with a view to revising US immigration policy and in consultation with the governments of Mexico and Canada. The benefits of better regional alignment between labor supply and demand will be evident in terms of higher economic growth, greater labor productivity, higher wages, more remittances, and lower levels of unauthorized immigration. Likely positive knock-on effects on investment, including FDI, will also be explored. Finally, the study will delve into required changes in US immigration law to allow for enhanced mobility of North American workers in the context of USMCA, including expanding the list of allowable occupations under the TN visa, while exploring needs for additional accommodations to address state and local licensing regulations and other labor market entry barriers that are often present for immigrant workers. The process for implementing the policy changes will be outlined within the context of each nation’s labor market needs, including possible responses to avoid likely pitfalls and pushback from interest groups that often oppose greater numbers of foreign workers, and to avoid legal challenges. The proposal will be presented to MPI leadership in the form of a white paper. 

SMU Tower Scholars Program

smu.edu/towerscholars

Southern Methodist University (SMU) Tower Center

214-768-4546