President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Stephen Miller said Trump’s new skills-based RAISE Act immigration proposal that benefits American workers is yet another example of how Trump favors the working class over the investment class…Miller said. “This is a major promise to the American people.”
Not desired by the Elites and Establishment but US Senators Tom Cotton (R-LA) and David Perdue (R-GA) are delivering what I believe is the kind of immigration reform that is needed. It is, however, 180 degrees away from what the GOPe, US Chamber of Commerce, and the Democrats believe was their “right” to have. And what is that, you ask? What the Bush and Obama Administrations gave us, for the most part – mass immigration via almost open borders with chain migration. Thanks Ted “Swimmer” Kennedy as he changed immigration for the worse in 1965 (and we’ve had two mass amnesty gimme’s already) an famously infamously said “[O]ur cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually … Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset.”. Yeah, that held up well, didn’t it?
Fact sheet here:
Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act)
A Bill to Raise Working Wages & Boost American CompetitivenessThe Problem with Our Immigration System
Our immigration system isn’t designed for the 21st century. The world is moving toward a knowledge and innovation economy. But only 1 out of every 15 U.S. immigrants come here because of their skills, and we do not prioritize the ultra high-skilled immigrants who spur innovation, create jobs, and make America more competitive. At the same time, the United States accepts 1 million immigrants annually—the equivalent of adding the entire state of Montana each year—and most are low- or unskilled. A generation-long influx of low-skilled immigrant labor has put downward pressure on the wages of working Americans, with recent immigrants’ wages hardest hit. For Americans who didn’t finish high school, wages have dropped nearly 20 percent since the 1970s. This collapse in working-class wages threatens to create a near-permanent underclass for whom the American Dream is just out of reach.
The RAISE Act Solution
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) would spur economic growth and help raise working Americans’ wages ending chain migration, giving priority to the most skilled immigrants from around the world, and reducing overall immigration by half. Specifically, the RAISE Act would:
Establish a Skills-Based Points System.
The RAISE Act would replace the current permanent employment-visa framework with a skills-based points system, akin to the systems used by Canada and Australia. The system would prioritize those immigrants who are best positioned to succeed in the United States and expand the economy. Applicants earn points based on education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, age, record of extraordinary achievement, and entrepreneurial initiative.
Prioritize Immediate Family Households.
The RAISE Act keeps immigration preferences for the spouses and minor children of U.S. residents, encouraging the unification of nuclear families. It eliminates preferences for extended family and grown adult family members of U.S. residents. For U.S. citizens who need to bring elderly parents to the United States for caretaking purposes, the bill creates a renewable temporary visa for such parents.
Eliminate the Outdated Diversity Visa Lottery.
The Diversity Lottery is plagued with fraud, advances no economic or humanitarian interest, and does not even promote diversity. It is an arbitrary way to distribute the precious privilege of U.S. citizenship, and the RAISE Act would eliminate it.
Place a Responsible Limit on Permanent Residency for Refugees.
The RAISE Act would limit refugees offered permanent residency to 50,000 per year, in line with a 13-year average.
The RAISE Act’s Impact
An America That’s More Competitive in the World. Immigrants coming here on skills-based visas will be better educated, more skilled, more fluent in English, have more working-age years ahead of them, and have a stronger entrepreneurial spirit. They will have a greater shot at becoming successful Americans, which will work to the benefit of all Americans in the form of an expanded and more competitive economy.
Rising Wages for Working Americans. According to immigration-projection models based on the work of Princeton and Harvard professors, the RAISE Act would lower overall immigration to 637,960 in its first year—a 41 percent drop—and to 539,958 by its tenth year—a 50 percent reduction. The RAISE Act will stem the flow of lowskill immigrants into the United States, reduce our country’s oversupply of low- and unskilled labor, and lead to an increase in wages for working Americans, who are long overdue for a raise.
Summary:
Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act)
A Bill to Raise Working Wages & Boost American Competitiveness
Section-By-Section Summary
Section 1 names the bill the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act.
Section 2 eliminates the Diversity Visa program. Currently, 50,000 visas are allotted annually in a lottery to applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States, with no regard to the applicants’ skills.
Section 3 caps the number of refugees granted permanent visas to the United States at 50,000 per year, in line with a 13-year average. It also requires the President to report the annual number of refugees admitted to the United States.
Section 4 maintains immigration preferences for the spouses and minor children of U.S. residents, but eliminates visa preferences for extended family and grown adult family members of U.S. residents. It also creates a renewable temporary visa for the elderly parents of U.S. residents to the come to the United States for caretaking purposes.
• Section 4(e) grandfathers in potential immigrants awaiting entry under immigration categories eliminated by the RAISE Act if their entry into the United States is scheduled to occur within one year of the RAISE Act’s enactment.
Section 5 replaces the current employment-based immigration system with an immigration points system, akin to the systems used by Canada and Australia. The points categories are based on predictors of immigrant success and economic contribution. Up to 140,000 employment-based visas will be issued annually to the highest scoring applicants.
• Sections 5(c) & (d) describe the points-based system. o Applicants earn points based on education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, age, record of extraordinary achievement, and entrepreneurial initiative.
o Potential immigrants who were awaiting entry under family preference categories eliminated by the RAISE Act but who do not qualify under the grandfather provision in Section 4 are allotted points if they apply through the points system.
o Applicants must reach a 30-point threshold to eligible for an employment-based visa.
o Eligible applicants enter a pool of potential immigrants from which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services twice a year invites the highest scorers to file full applications and undergo security vetting.
o Immigrant households arriving through the points system are not eligible for federal means tested benefits for a period of 5 years.
• Section 5(e) requires an annual statistical report on the skills-based points system.
• Section 5(f) requires a quadrennial report to Congress recommending updates to the points system with the aim of improving the economy and enhancing working Americans’ wages.
Section 6 conditions naturalization on the sponsors of an immigrant fulfilling their obligation to reimburse the federal government for benefits used by the immigrant, as required under current law.
(H/T: Big Government, Washington Examiner, Big Government, another Big Government)
