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Christie
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He supports a merit-based immigration system. “We have 6 million open jobs in this country,” he said back in October in an interview with Fox News. “We cannot have great economic growth at 4 ... 5% (which is what my goal would be as president) if we don’t fill those jobs. So let’s see which jobs we have open, who has skills to fill them, and let’s give people a legal way to come to this country.”
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DeSantis
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He’s promised that as president, he would work to enhance and enforce E-Verify. (E-Verify is a government-run tool that allows employers to verify the employment eligibility of their workers.) He has also said he will tax remittances by undocumented immigrants. “I’m going to have fees on remittances from foreign workers when they send the money back to foreign countries, we’re going to tax it, and we’re going to build the wall with that.”
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Haley
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Haley favors a merit-based immigration system for work permits. “We need to do it based on merit. We need to go to our industries and say what do you need that you don’t have? So think agriculture, think tourism, think tech. We want the talent that’s going to make us better.” Haley has also said she will mandate the E-Verify program on a federal level. She’s done this before, as governor of South Carolina.
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Ramaswamy
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Ramsaswamy has also advocated for a meritocratic system of immigration. Earlier this year, he offered his thoughts on the labor shortage, saying, “solve the worker shortage problem by eliminating federal incentives not to work. We need more vocational training.” He has said if elected, he would “gut” the H-1B visa system for skilled temporary workers, which allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in tech and other specialized jobs.
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Trump
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Trump has vowed to “terminate all work permits for illegal aliens.” He’s also said he will provide a “merit-based” immigration system that protects American workers. He already presented this idea in 2017, through the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act), a bill that did not advance. The system gives point values according to prospective age, education, occupation and language ability.
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