What is the Visa Lottery? It is a program that every year awards 50,000 immigrant visas (and lifetime work permits) to individuals living in eligible countries who are fortunate enough to be chosen in a random drawing.
The Visa Lottery meets no discernible need of the American people. It is simply another way of boosting overall admissions to further meet the demands of immigration expansionists.
The Visa Lottery began as a means to increase immigration from Ireland after the Immigration Act of 1965 led to a decline in visas available to Europeans, and was permanently established as the Diversity Visa Program in 1990.
The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy, introduced in the Senate by Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and co-sponsored by Senator David Purdue (R-Ga.), would, along with limiting refugee admissions and ending chain migration, eliminate the Visa Lottery.
The RAISE Act has the endorsement of President Trump who said:
Protecting our workers also means reforming our system of legal immigration….I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation’s security, and to restore respect for our laws.
The push to end the Visa Lottery program got renewed attention in the wake of the Halloween terrorist attack in New York City, because the perpetrator received a green card through the Visa Lottery, and, according to President Trump, was responsible for 23 other individuals coming to the United States.
Here are President Trump's remarks following the NYC attack:
We want to immediately work with Congress on the Diversity Lottery program on terminating it....We want a merit-based program, where people come into our country based on merit. And we want to get rid of chain migration...We've wanted to do that a long time.
The RAISE Act goes to the heart of why our immigration is dysfunctional –- the awarding of one million lifetime work permits every year to foreign nationals, with over 90% of the recipients receiving that benefit without regard to their education or skill level.
Sen. Cotton and Perdue’s RAISE Act is so important because it seeks to remedy fundamental problems with our current immigration system. The solution is not simply to add more skilled immigrants on top of the current numbers, but to admit a higher percentage of employment-based immigrants by eliminating chain migration.
This will have profound econoic benefits, and, with proper vetting, will greatly enhance national security.
Many Americans likely are not familiar with the Visa Lottery, so it is important for us to bring this to the attention of the public, and to support Sen. Cotton’s efforts to eliminate the Visa Lottery.
