Trump, GOP Senators Unveil Plan to Reduce Legal Immigration
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Flanked by Republican Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA), President Donald Trump announced a proposed immigration overhaul at the White House on Wednesday that would reduce legal immigration by making the system merit-based.
Trump explained that the goal is to move the U.S. away from a "low-skilled immigration system" that he says harms working class Americans, and that “this would be the most significant reform to the immigration system in half a century.”
Cotton and Perdue are bringing an updated version of their legislation, known as the RAISE Act, to the Senate after introducing an earlier version in April. The pair of senators looked to merit-based immigration systems used in Canada and Australia when drafting the proposal, which would do the following:
Replace the permanent employment-visa system with a skills-based points system. Applicants would earn points based on education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, age, record of extraordinary achievement, and entrepreneurial initiative.
Existing immigration preferences for the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents would remain in effect. Preferences for certain extended and adult family members would be eliminated.
The Diversity Lottery — which randomly makes available 50,000 immigrant visas annually to people from countries with low rates of immigration to the U.S. — would be eliminated.
The number of refugees offered permanent residency would be limited to 50,000 per year. In fiscal year 2017, the U.S. is projected to admit 110,000 refugees, a level the Obama administration increased from 85,000 before leaving office.
Overall, the plan would reduce the number of green cards awarded to new permanent residents each year from about 1 million currently to 600,000 one year after enactment. That total would continue to decline gradually each year to about 500,000 over a decade.
We will have a full summary of the RAISE Act once the newly-introduced legislation is assigned a bill number.
Tell your reps what you think of the RAISE Act using the Take Action button.
— Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: U.S. Customs and Immigration Services / Public Domain)
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