The chart illustrates the effect of Congress’ decision since 1957 to prioritize the admission of non-nuclear, extended family members in U.S. immigration policy. By allowing each immigrant admitted to subsequently petition for the admission of parents, siblings and their families, and adult children and their families, Congress has put in place an immigration system that results in virtually unlimited chain migration.
Chain Migration refers to the endless chains of foreign nationals who are allowed to immigrate to the United States because citizens and lawful permanent residents are allowed to sponsor their non-nuclear family members.
Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) has introduced H.R. 891, a bill that would eliminate the extended family visa categories (e.g., married sons and daughters of citizens, etc.), thus ending "chain migration" as recommended by the bipartisan Barbara Jordan Commission in 1997. Current immigration law allows U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to sponsor non-nuclear, adult family members, creating an endless chain of mass legal immigration.
In a Tweet Monday, Pres. Trump called for an end to the visa lottery and chain migration. He also called for immigration measures that would increase border security, tighten asylum policy, and end sanctuary cities.
The House of Representatives firmly rejected H.R. 6136, the Goodlatte-Ryan-Denham Amnesty bill, today by a vote of 121-to-301. The bill received 72 fewer votes than H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act, which fell just 20 votes short of passage last week.
The House of Representative voted against Rep. Bob Goodlatte's (R-Va.) H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act. The bill failed 193-to-231, falling just 20 votes short of passing through the House.
The draft text for House Speaker Paul Ryan's "compromise" bill is out, and it's as bad as we feared. Speaker Ryan's amnesty plan follows the same playbook that the Gang of 8 followed, granting an immediate and permanent amnesty to at least 1.8 million illegal aliens with only promises of future enforcement.
Pres. Trump said in a Fox News interview today that he will not approve any DACA amnesty legislation that doesn’t include strong border security, end the visa lottery program, and eliminate chain migration.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) H.R. 4760 will get a floor vote at some point during the week of June 17th. Chairman Goodlatte has been negotiating changes in the bill to drum up more support, but is still short of the 218 votes needed for passage. A vote on H.R. 4760 would kill the effort to establish votes on four immigration measures through a discharge petition for H.Res. 774.
Terms like "chain migration," "amnesty" and "Dreamers" aren't going to go away - short-hand descriptors are necessary, if not always of equal value - but we should understand the underlying policy. The differences between "chain migration" and "family-based migration" (or between "Dreamers" and "DACAs") are significant beyond mere ideological virtue signaling.
A recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the United States population will soar to 404 million by the year 2060, primarily because of the 1.5 million illegal and legal immigrants pouring into the country annually. With 326 million people currently residing in the U.S., immigration alone will increase that number by a staggering 78 million people over the course of just 40 years.
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) has cosponsored Rep. Bob Goodlatte's H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act. Their cosponsorships bring the total number of bill sponsors to 97.
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will propose a bill as early as today that is similar to the White House proposal, but makes several tweaks so that legal immigration levels never fall below 1 million per year. The proposal would convert any green cards freed up by ending the Visa Lottery or Chain Migration categories to employment-based green cards.
The White House officially released its legislative "framework" for an immigration deal that would expand amnesty for 690,000 plus DACA recipients to about 1.8 million illegal aliens and perpetuate chain migration by allowing the extended-family and employment "backlog" of 4 million to be cleared. How the latter would occur was not made clear.
Press Sec. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced in a White House press briefing Wednesday the that the Trump Admin. will release a bipartisan legislative framework next week that marks a path for immigration reform that both Democratic and Republican lawmakers can agree on.
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and David Perdue (R-Ga.) released a statement today opposing the “Gang of 6” proposal which fails to address any of Pres. Trump’s immigration policy priorities. The proposal, presented by Sens. Durbin (D-Ill.), Flake (R-Ariz.), and Graham (R-S.C.) would not strengthen border security or interior enforcement, fails to end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery, and would grant amnesty, not only to previous DACA recipients, but to all Dreamers and their parents as well.
Pres. Trump honored Civil Rights Icon Barbara Jordan today in a message commending her for championing an “America First” immigration policy which called for the mandate of an electronic employment verification system, known today as E-Verify, and an end to chain migration.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte introduced H.R. 4760, the Securing America's Future Act, last week that includes all of Pres. Trump's immigration priorities, including an end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery and an amnesty with work permits to current DACA holders. Also last week, a bipartisan group of Senators, led by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) presented a proposal that would grant amnesty to all Dreamers and their parents. Our Capitol Hill team has prepare a chart, comparing the two different proposals and to Pres. Trump's immigration priorities.
The DHS and DOJ released a report today showing that 402 of the 549 people convicted of international terrorism in the U.S. between Sept. 11, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2016 were foreign-born. Of those 402, 148 managed to obtain U.S. citizenship. Within the same time period ICE removed about 1,716 aliens who posed national security concerns.
Pres. Trump rejected a bipartisan deal on DACA proposed at the White House Thursday, saying the bill would not end chain migration and the visa lottery, and that it lacked proper funding to secure the border.
The Trump Administration saw the number of attempted illegal border crossings drastically drop by 40 percent in just one year. According to the DHS report released Tuesday on final border apprehension numbers for calendar year 2017, the Obama Administration oversaw 614,739 border arrests in its last year, compared to only 351,084 arrests in Pres. Trump’s first year.
Four House Republicans introduced legislation today to grant amnesty to DACA recipients while addressing all of Pres. Trump's demands. The Securing America's Future Act, introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Raul Labrador, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, and House Border Subcommittee Chairwoman Martha McSally, would end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery, make E-Verify mandatory for all employers, and beef up both interior enforcement and border security.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) did not attend Wednesday’s hour-long meeting held by a bipartisan group of pro-amnesty Senators that has been collaborating on Dream amnesty legislation. The group, led by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), had been working on legislation that would pair a Dream amnesty with a few minor border improvements, failing to address any of Pres. Trump’s demands.
Pres. Trump once again called for an end to Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery in a meeting today with several Republican Senators who are negotiating with Democrats on DACA legislation. The President also called for an end to both programs over Twitter over the last week.
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act is well-known for increasing immigration and for ending the national origins quota system that had existed since the 1920s. News stories will often give the misimpression that ending Chain Migration would reverse all of the 1965 Act when actually it wouldn't reverse any of it (moving to a merit-based system, on the other hand would reverse the 1965 bill's priorities). In combination with the existing chain categories, the 1965 Act's changes resulted in the doubling of immigration over the next 25 years.
The Washington Post's reporting takes a page out of Lyndon Johnson's Blue Book: Highlight the popular elimination of national origins; keep the unpopular numbers in the dark.
The Trump Administration called for an end to the Visa Lottery and Chain Migration in its National Security Strategy released earlier today. The document mostly focuses on non-immigration-related national security issues, but does highlight the Visa Lottery and Chain Migration as being possible threats to national security and public safety.
The White House launched a campaign on Thursday to convince voters to end Chain Migration. Earlier this year, the White House endorsed the RAISE Act, introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), that would end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery.
NumbersUSA today launched a national TV ad campaign to help Americans visualize just how out of control Chain Migration can get.
Using an animated chalk board, the 30-second ad shows how an amnesty for just one illegal border crosser or visa overstayer can lead to hundreds of distant relatives and in-laws lining up with the chance that they sooner or later can also get a lifetime U.S. work permit and path to U.S. citizenship.
Take a look here:
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that the suspect in this morning's attack on a bus and subway station in New York City entered the United States in 2011 through one of the chain migration categories. DHS says Akayed Ullah is a green card holder from Bangladesh and entered the country on an F43 visa.
Director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Lee Francis Cissna wrote an op-ed for the Capitol Hill publication The Hill today that calls on Congress to end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery. USCIS is the agency that issues all green cards to foreign nationals.
According to the latest State Department statistics since 2007, 28,783 individuals from terror-sponsoring countries (Iran, Sudan, and Syria) have received visas to enter the U.S. through the diversity visa lottery program. The visa lottery program has come under criticism after it was discovered that the New York City terror suspect entered the U.S. through the program.
Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) is working on legislation that would end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery and require all businesses to use E-Verify. He says he's introducing the legislation now, in fear of legislation coming from a House working group GOP that would likely grant amnesty and permanent work permits to DACA recipients.
Pres. Trump met with several Republican Senators today and told them not to add any DACA legislation to the must pass spending bill this year. Some Democrats have said they would be willing to face a government shutdown to include amnesty for Dreamers in the omnibus spending bill.
Pres. Trump said today that he wants to end the visa lottery and chain migration. He said he would immediately ask Congress to start the process to end the visa lottery program.
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. President Trump has called for its termination, as well as an end to chain migration.
A new poll conducted by National Research Inc., and The Polling Company shows overwhelming support for many of the Trump administration’s new immigration policy priorities, including putting American workers first.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) issued statements on Sunday night supporting Pres. Trump's Immigration Principles. AG Sessions has been a long-time champion for immigration policies that would put the interests of American workers first, and Rep. Smith introduced the House companion bill to the RAISE Act that would accomplish the legal reforms in the White House principles.
President Trump this evening released his much-awaited immigration policy "principles" that include an end to chain migration and a requirement for all businesses to use E-Verify to end the hiring of illegal workers. The administration says it is "ready to work with Congress to achieve three immigration policy objectives to ensure safe and lawful admissions; defend the safety and security of our country; and protect American workers and taxpayers."
Twenty million of the total 33 million legal immigrants admitted to the United States between 1981 and 2016 were admitted through the chain migration categories, according to analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies. According to CIS, a legal immigrant admitted to the United States sponsored an average of 3.45 family members for green cards.
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), James Lankford (Okla.), and Orrin Hatch (Utah) introduced the Succeed Act, which would grant amnesty to millions of young illegal aliens. While the Senators claim the bill addresses Pres. Trump's concern with chain migration, it would only prevent the amnestied illegal aliens from sponsoring family members while they hold conditional legal permanent residence.
Every political junkie in the country was trying to decode Pres. Trump's cryptic Tweet this morning on chain migration.
A new national poll of "likely midterm voters" finds 55% of them favoring a bill that "would allow immigrants to bring in their spouse and minor children but would end migration of extended family."
NumbersUSA President, Roy Beck, wrote an op-ed that was published on The Hill’s website today on what caused the DACA dilemma and how another amnesty will only increase, not end, this problem.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) has introduced the Immigration in the National Interest Act, which is the House companion bill to Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) RAISE Act. The RAISE Act would end chain migration and the visa lottery and transform the existing employment-based system to a merit-based one.
During an interview with CBS This Morning, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called for the passage of his RAISE Act legislation that would end chain migration and the visa lottery and transform the existing employment-based system to a merit-based one. Sen. Cotton was brought on to discuss his reaction to Pres. Trump ending the DACA executive amnesty.
Two of the three winners in Alabama's U.S. Senate primary elections Tuesday pledged to voters during the campaign that they will support immigration actions that are at the heart of the congressional RAISE Act.
In a USA Today op-ed entitled “Our Immigration Plan is Pro-Worker and Pro-Growth” Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) make the case for their RAISE Act that would update “our immigration laws to attract more ultra-high-skilled workers — and give working-class families the raise they deserve”.
