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 programme
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 [a] 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% of the total,
after family reunification (43%) and refugee
status or asylum seekers (23%).
By comparison, in the same period only 10%
of Europeans who became permanent
residents and 3% of Asians did so through the
lottery.
Merit based
"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 programme 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% of Asians and 22% of
Europeans - received a green card for
employment reasons in 2012.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Coloured 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."

Had expected obama to do more to protect african interest

Things are heating up in d US and its understandable that dey become careful who enters their country.

See what these Mexicans have caused...

well well well..