Amid the Twitter Storm

This weekend President Trump had just a little too much time on his hands and set off yet another twitter® storm of epic proportions.  He suggested in a series of tweets, perhaps those freshman Democrat Representatives who are making such a fuss about the border and the detention centers should go back to their own countries.  Of course, almost everyone with a D behind their names, the media, and all the perpetually offended Hollywood elites were totally outraged.  They flooded social media to clarify, for anyone who had a doubt, how hateful and racist this President is.

But (and that is a longstanding but).

But the question of flight by the intellectual elites from their home countries to Europe and the United States has been a longstanding subject of debate.  They are leaving their countries, seeking a better life for themselves, and leaving behind a country increasingly unable to cope with the issues of modernization precisely because those who could conceivably do something about improving the nation have left.

America has had in place a long-term program to bring eligible young people to the United States to attend our Colleges and Universities, with the expectation they would take that knowledge home, along with warm feelings about the U.S., and help improve the lives of their fellow countrymen.  Of course, some of those on educational visas stayed and became U.S. citizen, but I believe many returned to their homes.  I had a classmate in college who was granted such a visa, he was instrumental in our achieving a national championship in soccer and when college ended he returned home to Uganda with a degree in Chemistry.

Then the Government created immigration policies to allow 65,000 or so skilled workers (and fashion models) to obtain work visas under the H1-B skilled worker program. While this certainly helps the U.S. in some areas (like cheaper labor), doesn’t it do so at a cost to the home nation of the visa holder?   I wonder how good the government has been on ensuring once a visa expires the holder actually returns to his country?  Knowing a thing or two about the government I’m guessing the Departments of State, Labor and Homeland Security have not been all that diligent in holding people to the law.

At the end of the day people are offended when those countries of origin are called $h&t holes, but how will they ever improve if we keep enticing (i.e. stealing) all their brightest citizens?  Here’s an idea, maybe we can offer them a one for one exchange.  We could send 65,000 or so college professors or corporate CEOs back to help them become a first-world nation.