The President’s interested in cutting unnecessary bureaucracy. Here’s one place to start!


Suggestion #20: Streamline the process for a path to citizenship.


Immigration is a pretty contentious topic – and opinions diverge even on the IWF staff on how best to address it.


There is one area, however, where I think we all might agree – the need to reform the legal immigration system. It’s time-consuming and expensive for people who want to go through the process – and obviously, expensive for the government to administer as well. I recommend checking out Reason Magazine’s terrific chart that they put out a few years ago, which communicates the system’s complexity (and absurdity) very effectively. The process is labyrinthine – which, unfortunately, creates additional disincentives to people who might otherwise want to go through the process legally.


Across the political spectrum, Americans agree that the immigration system needs to be fixed. A sensible place to start would be to clean up the legal path to immigration. Think of all the time and money that are being wasted – by employers, individuals, and the government – that could be used to grow the economy instead! Let’s make this process quicker, easier, and more transparent, so aspiring Americans who want to legally become citizens (and the businesses who want to hire them!) can get to work.