Ideas worth spreading

TED Salon Border Stories

September 2019

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How guest worker visas could transform the US immigration system

The United States can create a more humane immigration system; in fact, it's been done before, says policy analyst David J. Bier. Pointing to the historical success of the US guest worker program, which allows foreign workers to legally enter and work in the country, Bier shows why expanding the program to Central Americans could alleviate the border crisis and provide new opportunities for immigrants.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

The United States can create a more humane immigration system; in fact, it's been done before, says policy analyst David J. Bier. Pointing to the historical success of the US guest worker program, which allows foreign workers to legally enter and work in the country, Bier shows why expanding the program to Central Americans could alleviate the border crisis and provide new opportunities for immigrants.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Immigration policy analyst

See speaker profile

David J. Bier is an expert on visa reform, border security and interior enforcement.

David Bier | Cato Institute, 2019 | Article

"Legal Immigration Will Resolve America's Real Border Problems"

This paper looks at the relationship between illegal immigration and legal immigration from Central America to the United States. It details the constraints of the current immigration system and explores specific ideas to channel illegal border crossers into the legal immigration system.

David Bier | Cato Institute, 2019 | Article

"Homicides in Mexico Tripled But Fewer Mexicans Came Illegally"

This article reviews homicide rates in Mexico compared to the rate of arrests of Mexicans crossing illegally into the United States. It demonstrates homicide rates have risen, even while the number of border crossers fell. It proposed that the expansion of legal means to travel have upended the relationship between violence and illegal migration.

Douglas S. Massey | Institute for Labor Economics, 2011 | Article

"Chain Reaction: The Causes and Consequences of America's War on Immigrants"

This paper by American sociologist Douglas Massey analyzes how US policies toward Mexican immigration failed their stated purposes, ultimately provoking more illegal immigration and unregulated employment. From the elimination of the Bracero guest worker program in the 1960s to the border buildup in the 1990s, US policies have only exacerbated the issues that they were meant to address.