President Trump’s vulgar language and racist views regarding immigration obfuscate serious debate over a key policy about which many reasonable people disagree.The buzzword is “merit.” In a tweet, Trump declares: “I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST.”I don’t use Twitter, but if I did my message would be: “I, as a grateful citizen, want our country to continue its proud tradition of welcoming the tired and poor who seek a better life. America is first in the world and thrives because of its diversity.”Those who favor merit-based metrics argue that higher skilled, better educated immigrants are less likely to seek assistance in the form of welfare and unemployment compensation.