To create US jobs, bring in immigrants

Bernd Debusmann

WASHINGTON — In tandem with the $447 billion jobs plan President Barack Obama announced on September 8, his administration is breathing new life into an old programme to draw job-creating foreigners to the United States. It’s known as the EB-5 investor programme, has a clouded history, and can’t bring much relief to America’s unemployment misery.

But with 27 million people unemployed or underemployed and Obama’s own job depending on whether or not he can bring down the unemployment rate in time for next year’s presidential election, every job-creating opportunity is worth pursuing.

Which is why Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano and Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of US Citizenship and Immigra-tion Services (USCIS), announced “streamlining measures” to