(10-12-2017, 07:19 PM)MalabarJag Wrote:

(10-12-2017, 07:05 PM)TJBender Wrote: A merit system will presumably sax X number of people will be allowed from X country
A merit system will presumably sax X number of people will be allowed from X country
A merit system will presumably sax X number of people will be allowed from X country

You said it yourself. If the merit system is based on country rather than, you know, merit, or artificial rules are affixed that place one group at an advantage over the other, then a merit system can indeed be made to exclude people of certain nationalities and, wait for it, races.

Unless you want to convince me that the Englishman with a high school education who wants to "see the world" is of greater merit than the Mexican carpenter who's uneducated but extremely skilled in a trade that the US is rapidly running out of skilled tradesmen for.

Except that JNG was wrong. A merit system does not set up quotas based on country (or race, sex, religion). That's something the Left does, not conservatives.

I'm not familiar with the details of the proposal (and maybe it hasn't even been fleshed out yet) but if it's truly a merit system, then there can be no discrimination by country, although the ability to speak English may be a factor.