Most American voters had to be thrilled to finally hear their long-time immigration desires expressed at the highest level as the President made clear in his State of the Union address that any immigration deal has to eliminate Chain Migration and end the Visa Lottery.
Despite the misleading and ill-informed claims by most pundits, those actions are immensely popular among the electorate. Polling has long shown that strong majorities of voters oppose using Chain Migration and Visa Lottery to add foreign workers to compete for jobs and wages.
I'm not sure I have ever heard a President better express the priorities of immigration policies than tonight when Pres. Trump reminded us that such policies must always take into consideration their effect on the vulnerable of our own national community.
The proof of that commitment by Pres. Trump will be in how much and how soon his proposed deal trims lifetime new immigrant work permits from the present one million a year back toward the 600,000 a year of the 1980s.
The announced "framework" for the immigration deal the President will propose concerns us that the numbers won't come down enough and will take too long to do so.
But the principles he laid out tonight are excellent:
The United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do more than any other country to help the needy, the struggling, and the underprivileged all over the world.
"But as President of the United States, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, and my constant concern is for America's children, America's struggling workers, and America's forgotten communities. I want our youth to grow up to achieve great things. I want our poor to have their chance to rise.
"So tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties -- Democrats and Republicans -- to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed. My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans -- to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream.
"Because Americans are dreamers too."
-- ROY BECK is Founder & President of NumbersUSA
