Bait and Switch: Since high-skill immigration is good, let's continue our policy of low-skilled immigration!

Thomas Friedman points out that a disproportional number of the finalists of 2010 Intel Science Talent Search are of immigrant origin. He puts up these names:

"Linda Zhou, Alice Wei Zhao, Lori Ying, Angela Yu-Yun Yeung, Lynnelle Lin Ye, Kevin Young Xu, Benjamin Chang Sun, Jane Yoonhae Suh, Katheryn Cheng Shi, Sunanda Sharma, Sarine Gayaneh Shahmirian, Arjun Ranganath Puranik, Raman Venkat Nelakant, Akhil Mathew, Paul Masih Das, David Chienyun Liu, Elisa Bisi Lin, Yifan Li, Lanair Amaad Lett, Ruoyi Jiang, Otana Agape Jakpor, Peter Danming Hu, Yale Wang Fan, Yuval Yaacov Calev, Levent Alpoge, John Vincenzo Capodilupo and Namrata Anand."

and concludes:

"Indeed, if you need any more convincing about the virtues of immigration, just come to the Intel science finals. I am a pro-immigration fanatic. I think keeping a constant flow of legal immigrants into our country — whether they wear blue collars or lab coats — is the key to keeping us ahead of China."

Is Friedman's list a logical argument in favor of current American immigration policy?

Well, let us note that fully 54% of the foreign born population of the U.S is from Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Only 9% are from India and China. Even if you don't ignore illegal immigrants, there are several times as many legal immigrants from Latin America as there are from India and China.

Yet, of the 40 finalists, not a single one seems to be from Latin America! (correct me if I am wrong. John Vincenzo Capodilupo sounds Italian). His list is almost entirely made up of Indians and Chinese kids.

In 2008 only 15% of legal immigration was based on employment or skills, the remaining 85% is skill unrelated things such as having relatives in U.S. This is Americas current immigration policy: take a few high skilled people and masses of lower skilled immigrants.

Thomas Friedman presents us with a very valuable piece of information, which is that high-skill immigrants are very innovative. He inadvertently illustrated that low-skilled immigrants are not very innovative. Americas current immigration policy is taking mostly low-skilled immigrants, and few high skilled immigrants.

Yet instead of drawing the logical conclusion from it, the NYT farcically wants to use the success of the high skilled as an argument in favor or continuing the current American policy of mass-low skill immigrant.