Press Release - What They Are Saying: Praise for the Raise Act

Attorney General Jeff Sessions: "This proposal will help the Department of Justice perform its duties to uphold our nation's immigration law and end the unlawful abuse of our public benefits programs that undermine U.S. taxpayers. The higher entry standards established in this proposal will allow authorities to do a more thorough job reviewing applicants for entry, therefore protecting the security of the U.S. homeland. The additional time spent on vetting each application as a result of this legislation will also ensure that each application serves the national interest. The American people deserve a lawful immigration system that promotes our national interest. The RAISE Act would give us a more merit-based immigration system that admits the best and the brightest around the world while making it harder for people to come here illegally. The bill would end programs known to be rife with fraud and abuse and finally improve the vetting process, making our country--and working-class wages--much safer and stronger."

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke: "The immigration system of the United States-–as administered by the Departments of State and Homeland Security--should better promote the admission of the best and the brightest from around the world. Such a merit-based system would serve the national interest. The RAISE Act embodies the President's stated principles for such an immigration system. The men and women of the Department of Homeland Security are committed to enforcing the existing immigration laws of our nation—including our generous system that admits more than 1.1. million legal immigrants a year. We look forward to an immigration structure that is better for American workers, better for the American economy, better for American security, and better for immigrants and their immediate families."

Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta: "The American worker has never had a stronger advocate than President Trump. The President understands that stopping the abuse of our country's immigration and visa system is essential to our nation's economic success. The RAISE ACT rolls back regulations that put American workers and businesses at a disadvantage. It puts America First."

Senator David Perdue: "President Trump campaigned on growing our economy and fixing our immigration system. Right now, our current immigration system does not meet the needs of our economy. We want to welcome talented individuals from around the world who wish to come to the United States legally to work and make a better life for themselves. The RAISE Act will create a skills-based system that is more responsive to the needs of our economy and preserves the quality of jobs available to American workers."

Senator Tom Cotton: "For decades, our immigration system has been completely divorced from the needs of our economy, and working Americans' wages have suffered as a result. Our legislation will set things right. We will build an immigration system that raises working wages, creates jobs, and gives every American a fair shot at creating wealth, whether your family came over on the Mayflower or just took the oath of citizenship."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte: "The United States has the most generous legal immigration system in the world. However, we only select between 5-12% of immigrants on the basis of the education and skills they can bring to America. Other countries, such as Canada, the U.K., and Australia, select over 60% of immigrants based on skills. In order to remain competitive in the global economy, this must change. Senators Cotton and Perdue have taken the lead in the Senate by introducing bold legislation to reform our immigration system. The RAISE Act will prioritize individuals with skills needed in the United States. In the House, Representatives Lamar Smith and Darrell Issa have worked for years to achieve this objective. I applaud all of these individuals for their leadership on this important issue, and I look forward to working on a bicameral basis with these and other key players to enact fundamental reform this Congress."

Representative Jody Hice: "Great bill! Addressing the ever-rising tide of chain migration, while admitting immigrants based on the skills they bring to the table."

Federation for American Immigration Reform President Dan Stein: "The RAISE Act ends chain-migration by limiting family-based immigration to the nuclear family and replacing the employment-based system with a skills-based point structure. It helps select immigrants who have the tools to succeed in the U.S. while returning immigration to more traditional levels. President Trump, and bill sponsors Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, should be applauded for recognizing the current dysfunction of our outdated immigration policies that, unlike the rest of the nation, have been stuck in a time warp for the last 50 years. The RAISE Act closely follows the bipartisan recommendations of President Clinton's Jordan Commission, which called for moving the nation to an immigration model that emphasized skills over bloodlines and returned immigration to more traditional levels. These changes will truly make immigration great again."

NumbersUSA President Roy Beck: "The RAISE Act introduced today by Senators Cotton and Perdue will do more than any other action to fulfill President Trump's promises as a candidate to create an immigration system that puts the interests of American workers first. Our recent polling confirms that American voters overwhelmingly want far less immigration because they know mass immigration creates unfair competition for American workers. Seeing the President standing with the bill's sponsors at the White House gives hope to the tens of millions of struggling Americans in stagnant jobs or outside the labor market altogether. NumbersUSA stands with these Americans in wholeheartedly endorsing the RAISE Act."