Young, Manchin Introduce Bill to Allow Distressed Communities to Opt-in to New Program Attracting High-Skilled Immigrants
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Joe Manchin (I-W. Va.) today introduced the Heartland Visa Act of 2024 to give distressed communities the option to legally attract more high-skilled immigrants to their area.
In recent years, broken border policies have led to an influx of low-skilled illegal immigration across the United States, while legal immigrants working high-paying jobs have clustered in coastal cities. Under the bill, communities with declining populations would have the ability to opt-in to the new Heartland Visa program, which would give them the ability to attract qualifying high-skilled immigrants with good paying job offers in the U.S.
“President-elect Trump has expressed a desire to make it easier for highly-educated foreigners to bring their talents to the United States. As we consider measures to secure the border and improve our broken immigration system, the Heartland Visa program should be part of the conversation. This bill would create a new program to legally bring the world’s best and brightest to the United States to launch small businesses and build careers. At the same time, the bill will help revitalize American communities by allowing the heartland areas of our country to directly benefit from the economic growth of high-skilled employment,” said Senator Young.
“While securing our Southern Border is a top priority, this commonsense proposal would complement that effort while stimulating our economy and helping to reduce the labor shortage, particularly in rural communities. I am proud to join Senator Young in this bipartisan effort as one of my final acts as a United States Senator. I hope this proposal kickstarts the conversation as we seek commonsense solutions to secure our border and ensure our economy remains the strongest in the world,” said Senator Manchin.
Under the legislation, counties that have experienced particular economic decline will have the opportunity to apply to the Heartland Visa program. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would select the final list of participating Heartland Visa counties from these applications.
Foreign individuals who have received offers of employment could then apply to DHS for a special visa that would allow them to reside in a participating Heartland Visa county and work. DHS would issue Heartland Visas annually through a wage-based point system that prioritizes higher salaries, with special consideration for characteristics like graduation from a college or university in the particular state. Heartland Visas would be issued to qualifying applicants in each participating county in descending order of adjusted wages until all available visas have been issued or there are no more qualified applicants remaining. The Heartland Visa Program would be self-funded through application fees.
As with any immigration program, enforcement is critical. Under the legislation, applicants for a Heartland Visa must clear a comprehensive background check to ensure they do not pose a security risk to the United States. While participating in the program, visa holders must submit tax returns and keep an updated eligible address on file. Violating any provision of the Heartland Visa program can result in deportation, and there is a hard cap on the number of participants.
While illegal immigration can be a drain on local resources, the United States has benefited tremendously from skilled immigration. Newcomers have long accounted for outsized shares of new startups and patents and, by one estimate, were responsible for 30 to 50 percent of all productivity growth between 1990 and 2010. Yet the enormous benefits of skilled immigration are not reaching many communities across the heartland.
The Heartland Visa Act of 2024 is endorsed by Economic Innovation Group (EIG) – a bipartisan public policy organization dedicated to forging a more dynamic American economy.
“The Heartland Visa Act would provide American communities with a powerful new tool for economic growth, innovation, and revitalization,” said John Lettieri, President and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group. “This legislation recognizes that highly skilled immigrants deliver vital benefits to U.S. workers and communities, from new jobs and businesses to higher wages to more tax revenues that support essential local services. Enacting a Heartland Visa is a long-overdue way to ensure that these benefits reach areas of the country left behind by U.S. immigration policy for too long.”
The bill is also supported by Americans for Prosperity, the Center for American Entrepreneurship, the Council on National Security and Immigration, Engine, the Foundation for American Innovation, Institute for Progress, the Niskanen Center, the Pioneer Institute, and The LIBRE Initiative. A complete list of quotes from supporting organizations can be found here.