The RAISE (Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy) Act would limit the number of permanent residence permits, or green cards, to half a million a year. The current level is 1 million. The points system would let would-be residents' ability to speak English and earn a living be taken into account when their green card applications are considered.
Campaign promise
With the bill's sponsors, Republican Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, by his side, Trump hailed the measure as another step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to put America first. He called it "the most significant reform to our immigration system in a half century." "As a candidate I campaigned on creating a merit-based immigration system that protects U.S. workers and taxpayers, and that is why we are here today," Trump said. "This legislation will not only restore our competitive edge in the 21st century, but it will restore the sacred bonds of trust between America and its citizens," he said. "This legislation demonstrates our compassion for struggling American families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first and that puts America first."
Green card holders attend a citizenship clinic in Rockville, Maryland.
Cotton and Perdue argue that the "generation-long influx of low-skilled immigrants has been a major factor in the downward pressure on the wages of working Americans." "The current system doesn't work," Perdue said. "We need a new approach. We need to fix this immigration system." He noted that the bill was based on laws that are working well in other countries with large immigrant populations. "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. Both have been extremely successful in attracting highly skilled workers to those countries."
Senior White House official Stephen Miller, briefing reporters Wednesday, said the current immigration system has promoted a shift in wealth from the working class to wealthier corporations and businesses. "It has been very unfair for American workers, but especially for immigrant workers, African-American workers and Hispanic workers," he said. Miller, describing green cards as "the golden ticket to U.S. immigration," said the bill mandates several major changes. Among the most significant is elimination of "chain migration," which allows green card holders to bring in a large number of family members, who in turn can bring in more relatives in a chainlike series, he said.
The White House event was designed to encourage support for the bill, which had been getting little attention on Capitol Hill. The Republican leadership has shown little inclination to vote on immigration this year. One key Republican, Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, tweeted Wednesday that while he supported the idea of merit-based immigration, "if [the] proposal were to become law, [it would be] devastating to [South Carolina's] economy, which relies on this immigrant workforce."
'A nation of immigrants'
