WASHINGTON – Africans
could be the big losers as
the United States reforms
its immigration laws and
eliminates the green card
lottery, of which Africans
are the main beneficiaries.
Half of the 50,000
residence permits handed
out at random each year
are earmarked for
Africans. It is a hugely
popular program that has
allowed hundreds of
thousands of Africans to
settle in America since the
mid 1990s.
But the ambitious reform
project under debate now in
Washington, which would
provide papers for million
undocumented immigrants,
contains a clause that
would do away with the
lottery.
In its place would be a
more selective immigration
system based on skills,
career and family ties.
For years the lottery has
been in the crosshairs of
Republicans, who control
the House of
Representatives and say it
adds no value to the
American economy.
“It’s clear that there are
better ways to allocate
visas than to randomly give
them out through a lottery
system,” said Bob
Goodlatte, the Republican
who leads the House
Judiciary Committee. “Our
immigration laws shouldn’t
be based on the luck of the
draw; rather, they should
be designed strategically to
benefit our country.”
The ‘diversity visa,’ as it is
known formally, is set aside
for people from countries
that do not experience a lot
of emigration. So Mexicans,
Chinese and Filipinos, for
instance, are not eligible.
Africans quickly became the
main ones to cash in.
All applicants need is a
high school diploma or two
years of work experience.
Between 2010 and 2012,
one in five Africans who
came to the United States
to stay did so through the
lottery. That made it the
third most common
method, at 21 percent of
the total, after family
reunification (43%) and
refugee status or asylum
seekers (23%).
By comparison, in the same
period only 10 percent of
Europeans who became
permanent residents and
3% of Asians did so
through the lottery.
“It has proven to be a way
of helping those who come
from the continent of
Africa, those who come
from a number of other
areas where it is very
difficult to get a visa,” said
Sheila Jackson Lee, a
member of the
Congressional Black
Caucus, whose members
are all Democrats.
But in an effort to preserve
the comprehensive reform
being negotiated for months
by the two parties, the
Democrats and President
Barack Obama agreed to
ditch the lottery.
Representative Charles
Schumer, who authored the
program in 1990, said it
was impossible to keep it.
Schumer said the system
that will replace it in 2017
is merit-based and will also
give Africans a chance. On
average they are more
educated than people from
other continents. And
English-speaking Africans
would get a boost because
of that language skill.
But Michael Fix of the
Migration Policy Institute
said, “It really probably
won’t admit enough people
to offset the effects of the
loss of the diversity visa for
some years after that. It’s
a long time away. It won’t
be immediately offset by
any means.”
The diversity visas would
vanish starting next year
under the reform being
negotiated.
Only four percent of
African immigrants —
compared to 21 percent of
Asians and 22 percent of
Europeans — received a
green card for employment
reasons in 2012.
The National Association
for the Advancement of
Colored People says the
number of African
immigrants will go down
even with the merit-based
system.
“In essence, we’re
concerned,” said Hilary
Shelton, the NAACP
Washington bureau
director.
Dame Babou, who hosts a
radio show that caters to
Senegalese people in New
York, said the scrapping of
the lottery is disheartening
for Africans.
“Every year many people
thought this was going to
be their year,” Babou said.
“Again, what is being
eliminated is hope.”(AFP)