At Mother of Exiles, we frequently focus on the subject of low-skilled immigrant labor due to the fact that they are the most talked-about immigrant group; however, it is far from the only immigration issue. America's broken immigration policy doesn't just keep hard-working, low-skilled laborers out, it also keeps many high-skilled workers out of the country. Unlike laborers from south of the border, these people cannot fly under the radar and so their economic benefit is largely unfelt.

The problem is detailed in this article:

Nations that are more accepting of and better at integrating new immigrants have a higher level of economic growth and development. The MIPEX is closely correlated to a common measure of economic development -- the level of GDP per capita.

The short of it is, nations prosper when they are more open to immigration.  Those who are not flounder. America is far from the worst country in that regard, but there remains substantial room for improvement. The more open we are to those who wish to come here and work to prosper, the better off we all will be.