President Donald Trump is embracing legislation from two Republican senators that would place new limits on legal immigration and seek to create a system based more on merit and skills than family ties.
Trump joined with Sens. David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas to trumpet the bill, which has so far gained little traction in the Senate. The president said if approved the measure would represent "the most significant reform to our immigration system in half a century." The Reforming American Immigration For A Strong Economy Act, or RAISE, would also eliminate the diversity Visa lottery.
“What we’re introducing today is modeled on the current Canadian and Australian systems, it’s pro-worker, pro-growth and it’s been proven to work.,” according to Senator Perdue.
Perdue says the move is necessary to grow the U.S. economy.
“The reason we need to do this is very simple, our current system does not work. It keeps America from being competitive and it does not meet the needs of our economy today,” Perdue said. “Today as Tom said, we bring in 1.1 million legal immigrants a year. Over 50% of our households of legal immigrants today participate in our social welfare system. Right now only one out of 15 immigrants that come into our country come in with skills that are employable. We’ve got to change that.”
Some immigrant advocates have criticized the proposal, saying that slashing legal immigration would hurt industries like agriculture and harm the economy.