The issue of immigration reform may have been swept from the headlines in the past couple weeks, but it hasn鈥檛 left the minds of many immigrants.
Local immigration attorneys say they鈥檝e been getting worried calls from clients ever since the President proposed eliminating some categories of family-based visas.
鈥淢ost immigration attorneys would tell you that they are seeing a trend of people worried,鈥 said immigration lawyer Melissa Gawelek, 鈥渆specially people who are living thousands of miles away from their loved ones.鈥
Merit system
During his State of the Union speech, Trump called for an end to a decades-old federal law that allows U.S. citizens to sponsor their relatives and siblings for a green card鈥攁 system that Trump and many Republicans have referred to as 鈥渃hain migration,鈥 while many Democrats are calling it 鈥渇amily reunification.鈥
In addition to curbing family-based immigration, Trump advocated shifting visa criteria towards a points-based 鈥渕erit鈥 system that would, among other factors, favor foreign nationals with advanced degrees and English proficiency.
Trump says the changes would be good for the most vulnerable American workers and boost the economy鈥攂ut how exactly does family-based immigration impact the economy?
Arturo Luna, 42, has lived in Greater Cleveland for almost half his life, but he grew up in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Ask him how he ended up here, he鈥檒l tell you, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a long story. A love story.鈥
Love story
Luna met his wife while she was vacationing in Puerto Vallarta. And in 1999, he moved to Cleveland to be with her. A few years later, they had a son. At the time, Luna said, it was a struggle to make ends meet. He was working as a busboy at a local Cheesecake Factory.
鈥淲orking hard at night, and the next day I had to take care of my son,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 go shopping, and whatever I make one day before, I spend the whole thing diapers, formula, food for the kid. I was like, 鈥極h my god.鈥欌
But soon, he and his wife would get some help. Luna sponsored his mom for a green card. She moved in with them, and Luna said that changed everything. With his mom taking care of his son during the day, he and his wife could both work. And in 2012, with the money he saved, he bought a 1988 GMC van and an industrial steam cleaner.
Contributing to the economy
Today, Luna runs his own business, Avenger Carpet Cleaning (the name came from his son, who鈥檇 just seen the Marvel flick). He also has three native-born employees.

Many immigration researchers say stories like Luna鈥檚 illustrate how family-immigration benefits not just immigrants and their families, but the larger economy.
鈥淚mmigrants sponsor their parents for immigration sometimes to help them with their child care,鈥 said Julia Gelatt, a senior policy analyst at the in Washington, D.C., 鈥渁nd that can help the immigrants stay attached to the labor market or perhaps work more hours or be more committed to their careers.鈥
Of the immigrants who came to the U.S. through family sponsorship in 2016, about a third were either parents or siblings, according to the .
Eliminating those categories would likely result in a slight short-term increase in per capita GDP, according to an analysis by the Wharton Budget Model (the analysis focuses on a Senate bill, the RAISE Act, upon which Trump鈥檚 immigration proposal is based). However, the policy would also result in 1.3 million fewer jobs over the next decade and a long-run decrease per capita GDP.
It鈥檚 estimated that Trump鈥檚 proposal would also cut the million legal immigrants arriving in the U.S. each year in half.
Winners and losers
That might not be such a bad thing, said Steven Camarota, director of research for the , a Washington-area think tank wants to reduce all immigration. Immigration policy, he said, produces winners and losers.
鈥淭he parents coming in would be helpful to the individual immigrant,鈥 Camarota said, 鈥渂ut Grandma and Grandpa probably aren't paying enough in taxes to cover their consumption of public services, like most older retired people who don't work much.鈥
The other cost of family immigration, Camarota said, is that because family visas don't discriminate based on a person鈥檚 level of education or training, family visa holders may be more likely to be 鈥榣ow-skilled,鈥 and thus compete with some low-skilled native-born workers for the same jobs.

The effect on native workers
Researchers tend to agree that immigration in general may have a slightly negative effect on the wages of the least educated native-born workers.
The extent to which people who come to the U.S. on family visas compete with low-skilled workers or use taxpayer-funded services is unclear, however. That鈥檚 because, according Gelatt, there isn鈥檛 much government data that focuses specifically on that population.
For that reason, many assertions about the effects of family immigration tend to be based on assumptions about the skills and education held by family-sponsored immigrants.
鈥淒o I think the poor labor market for situation for these folks is a serious and profound social problem? You bet,鈥 Camarota said. 鈥淒o I think immigration is contributing to that problem? I do.鈥
But others say a policy that reduces legal immigration would probably hurt Americans more than it would help.
鈥淚f we want our economy to be dynamic, we need immigrants,鈥 said Jim Russell, a research consultant with the at Cleveland State University.
Cities like Cleveland are struggling to attract residents, he said. At the same time, immigrants are helping to fill gaps in the region鈥檚 labor market, not just in low-skill jobs in the service and agriculture sectors, but also in high-skill professions like engineering and medicine. If those folks can鈥檛 someday bring their parents or siblings, Russell said, they may be deterred from moving here.
鈥淭he signal you're sending to the rest of the world is one that will reach highly skilled people as well,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd they will see the United States as intolerant and instead of going to Cleveland, they'll go to Toronto, or they'll go to Sydney.鈥
Or professionals, like attorney Su He, may decide to leave.
Ms. He moved here from China about a decade ago to attend law school at Case Western Reserve University. Along the way, she met her husband, a scientist. And last year she hung up a shingle, her own immigration law practice. She said, she and her husband have plans to put down roots in Cleveland, become citizens, and one day, sponsor their aging parents to come live here.
鈥淲hen I get older, my parents get older,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd because me and my husband, we鈥檙e both the only child in the family, if we don鈥檛 care of them, no one will take care of them.鈥
But those plans could change if President Trump were to get his way. Ms. He said if she and her husband can鈥檛 bring their parents here, they鈥檇 have no choice but to move back to China.
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