Broken Immigration System Risks Serious Damage to U.S. National Interests, Warns CFR Task Force (LINK)

"'The continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken America’s economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security,' concludes a new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Independent Task Force co-chaired by former Florida governor Jeb Bush and former White House chief of staff Thomas 'Mack' McLarty.

'The stakes are too high to fail,' says the report. 'If the United States continues to mishandle its immigration policy, it will damage one of the vital underpinnings of American prosperity and security, and could condemn the country to a long, slow decline in its status in the world.' For this reason, the report urges: 'The United States needs a fundamental overhaul of its immigration laws.'

Key among the changes:

• "Earned legalization: The Task Force favors a policy of earned legalization, not amnesty, for many of the illegal immigrants currently living in the United States. The DREAM Act, reintroduced in the 111th Congress, provides the right model by requiring that young people without status who wish to remain in the United States must attend college or perform military service and demonstrate good moral character in order to earn their eligibility for permanent residence."

For the full report go to: www.cfr.org/immigration_policy