WFB: Freshman Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) joined Sens. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and David Perdue (R., Ga.) Wednesday to reintroduce an immigration bill that seeks to boost American economic competitiveness by prioritizing skilled migration.
Hawley joined Sens. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) and David Perdue (R., Ga.) in sponsoring the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act). The bill, first offered in 2017, would aim to increase wages and employment in the United States. It would set immigration rates—prioritizing skilled laborers—at approximately 500,000 people per year, half the current rate.
President Donald Trump strongly endorsed the first bill. He characterized it as a “merit-based immigration system that protects our workers, our taxpayers, and our economy.”
“Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, we will have so many more benefits,” Trump said. “It will save countless dollars, raise workers’ wages, and help struggling families — including immigrant families — enter the middle class.”
Hawley, who joins the Senate after defeating Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) in the 2018 midterms, offered his support for the bill. “We need an immigration system that puts American workers first,” he said. “Our broken immigration policies hurt hardworking Americans and the talented individuals who are stuck in line, waiting to contribute to our country.”
According to Politico, the Economic Policy Institute and DHS Immigration Yearbook estimate that current merit-based admissions account for less than a tenth of all lawfully admitted migrants.
The bill would focus on reducing the percentage of immigrants dependent on government welfare or competing with Americans for high-demand jobs. It would also end the practice of “chain migration,” in which immigrants generate a claim of admissions for family members. more here
Great way to end Teddy Kennedy’s travesty-of-a-legacy immigration law.
Since it seeks to preserve and strengthen the middle class, you can know that anyone who opposes is a communist or a corporatist (a lot of overlap between them these days…same goal).
Great thinking ^^^^. I’m with you fellers.
Dems will despise it. Americans will love it.
It won’t pass – until 2021 when we have both chambers of Congress again.
@Left Coast Dan April 11, 2019 at 9:04 am
> It won’t pass – until 2021 when we have both chambers of Congress again.
Like “repealing Obamacare”, it will only have a chance to pass if the Republicans do NOT have a lock on the legislature. Forcing RINOs and COCs to vote with a Democrat majority (in at least one chamber), against the American people, is the only thing that keeps them “on the reservation”.