US immigration policies are not working well, says JPMorgan CEO
What's the story
JPMorgan Chase's Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has criticized the US immigration policies, calling them ineffective.
He made the remarks during a discussion with Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi at the Data AI Summit 2025 in San Francisco.
"We don't do mortgage policies well, we didn't do immigration policies well," Dimon said while highlighting other areas like affordable housing and work skills where he feels US policies have fallen short.
Global influence
'America is indispensable'
Dimon stressed on the importance of America in the world, saying, "America is indispensable."
He explained that this isn't because of superiority but due to factors like military strength, economic prosperity, technological roots, and freedoms. He said these are what attract people to America.
The JPMorgan CEO also emphasized on a merit-based immigration system to strengthen the nation by attracting skilled individuals.
Perspective
More merit-based immigration needed
Dimon, whose grandparents immigrated from Greece without a high school education, has been vocal about the need for a more skills-focused immigration system.
He said, "We should be doing more merit-based immigration. People come here to be Americans, to embrace freedom of speech, freedom of enterprise—those are our foundations."
His comments come as the Donald Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the US.
Caution
'Don't transfer critical technologies to China'
When asked about China and US leadership, Dimon stressed the necessity for American dominance in defense and technology.
He warned against transferring important technologies to China, especially those that might enhance its military capabilities.
"You do not want to give them nano chips that improve their supersonic missiles," he said, adding that when China sets its mind on something, "they put 50,000 engineers on it."