Not only is the proposed point system not going into effect until about 2015, but a potentially explosive detail is bound to create many roadblocks on the way there. A young worker in science or other technical fields will get more than 80 (out of 100) points for his skills. A worker without a high-school diploma will get fewer than 20 or 30. It is unlikely that a country where most people do not graduate from high school, like Mexico, will be sending us too many of these point-system immigrants.
Imagine the reaction once it sinks in that the point system will dramatically cut the number of visas that such countries get. The disguised (and not so disguised) accusations of discrimination and racism hurled at the bill’s opponents today will seem like child’s play. Any bets on how long it would take weak-kneed legislators to back off, strip the point system of its “discriminatory” impact, and make the whole thing meaningless?