Press. voanews.com
Two Republican
senators say they are sponsoring legislation that would make major changes in
the U.S. immigration system, slashing the number of foreign nationals admitted
into the country each year by up to 50 percent.
The proposal,
which by some estimates would reduce immigration from 1 million to 500,000
people per year, would align the federal government with policies that
conservative "restrictionist" groups have advocated for years, if not
decades.
The bill being
proposed by Senators David Perdue and Tom Cotton would reduce immigration by
limiting admission for migrants' family members, ending the diversity visa
lottery program and making the process of obtaining "green card" work
permits much more difficult.
Perdue and
Cotton, who represent the states of Georgia and Arkansas, respectively, said
Tuesday they hope to see their proposal reach the Senate floor this year, but
that they do not expect quick action on the bill. Both men said they spoke to
President Donald Trump before announcing their plans.
Reaction
America's Voice,
a group which lobbies for political rights for immigrants, criticized the bill,
calling it part of a broader campaign to restrict immigration to the United
States.
Lynn Tramonte,
the deputy director of America's Voice, told NBC News her pro-immigration group
is "very concerned about additional restrictions on legal immigration, as
it's all of a piece, coming from the same dark place."
Democratic
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told VOA in a statement that attacks on
immigrants hurt the economy and go against America’s values as a nation.
“First,
President Trump rolled out an unlawful and un-American ban on refugees and
immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. Now, Republican Senators are
introducing legislation to take an axe to legal immigration -- without doing
anything to actually enact comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
“We are a nation
of immigrants - new and old - and they are an integral part of our
economy," Van Hollen said. "They are entrepreneurs, job creators, and
hardworking members of our society. These attacks on immigrants hurt our
economy and go against our values as a nation, and we will fight them tooth and
nail.”
The proposed
Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act, or RAISE, would allow
only spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents
to enter the U.S. as immigrants. It would exclude preferential treatment for
extended family members and adult relatives of U.S. residents, such as parents,
siblings and adult children.
Cotton told
reporters that a waiver could be granted to the parents of a legal permanent
U.S. resident in case of illness - as long as the family guaranteed the new
arrivals would not rely on public benefits for support or health care.
He and Perdue
said in a statement they would eliminate the "outdated" diversity
visa lottery, which they say "is plagued with fraud [and] advances no
economic or humanitarian interest." The lottery program currently provides
50,000 visas per year.
A summary of the
RAISE proposal said "green cards," the documents that denote
permanent resident status and permit foreign nationals to work legally in the
United States, would be restricted to a maximum of 50,000 per year. The summary
estimated the average waiting time for such permits would rise to 13 years.
Immigrants with
special skills “who come and help our economy” would still be allowed in, the
senators said, and there would be no restriction on foreign nationals who have
visas connected to their employment in the U.S.
Analysts
familiar with the proposal said the bill is intended to prevent foreign
nationals willing to work for low wages from competing with less-educated
American workers, whose incomes have been declining in recent years.
"Unless we
reverse this trend, we are going to create a near-permanent underclass for whom
the American dream is always just out of reach," Cotton told reporters. His
aides estimated the RAISE legislation would cut immigration to the U.S. by 40
percent in its first year, and 50 percent over the next 10 years.
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