RAISE a Glass to the American Worker Once Again
It’s not every day a bill is introduced in Congress that represents some of the best thinking on a major public policy issue, but the new “RAISE Act” qualifies. Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) have put their heads together to introduce the “Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act.” It seeks to boost working wages and enhance American competitiveness. It deserves our support.
The RAISE Act makes good on a major Trump campaign promise to reduce immigration to traditional levels. This innovative bill would finally put in place recurring recommendations from various blue-ribbon commissions dating back more than 35 years. It’s long overdue. Among other things, the RAISE Act would:
Make immigration affordable.
By admitting fewer low-skilled immigrants, solely on the basis of family relationships, it would reduce the rate of welfare dependence among newcomers.
Make immigration manageable.
By curtailing the chain migration of extended families in favor of immediate family households, it would eliminate the backlogs and long waiting lists that encourage so many visa-overstays. It also dispenses with another Chuck Schumer creation: a pointless “Diversity Lottery” that makes us the laughing stock of the world. The Raise Act’s sponsors hope to see immigration levels drop over 40 percent in the first year alone.
Make immigration work for America again.
We don’t make buggy whips any longer. Why have an outdated immigration system? Through an innovative skills-based “points structure,” the Raise Act:
- Eliminates the special interest pressure of predatory employer-based foreign labor recruitment that has plagued immigration law for so long
- Ensures more newcomers have the skills compositions to make a real contribution to our economy – to help grow our economy and attract capital for innovation. But it does so in a way that protects our working families.
Make immigration compatible with today’s labor market.
By reducing chain and employer-sponsored immigration, the bill would help ensure that downward wage pressure from immigration will stop. Did you know that due to the explosion of unskilled immigration, wages for those who didn’t finish high school have been steadily dropping? Under the RAISE Act, wages will rise; those hit hardest by low-skill immigration will finally regain a footing on the ladder to the American dream. Isn’t it time we think about the most vulnerable, hardest working Americans?
President Trump promised to Make American Great Again. To help make immigration great again – to ensure immigration serves the American people and our national priorities – the RAISE Act would be a fine place to start.
8 Comments
I like the reduction in legal immigration. I am concerned how this will be implemented. We have hundreds of thousands of Indians on the H-1B visa now in the country occupying jobs that Americans should have. Is the Raise act going to be a conduit for Indian and Chinese IT workers to further flood the technical fields thus ensuring that few Americans will get the opportunity to work in those fields? Now Congress is attempting to issue 700,000 green cards to H-1B workers. ( https://www.indiaabroad.com/business/tossing-per-country-caps-for-work-based-green-cards/article_7c0f8132-796d-11e7-a920-6f554473bf46.html ). Representative Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) can’t get enough cheap labor and is sponsoring the H.R. 392 bill. First Americans are displaced from their jobs by companies using the H-1B temporary work visa, and now Yoder wants to make them permanent residents. There must be per country caps on the green cards issued by the RAISE act or we will become India and China with their values, not American values.
What is also interesting is that people has come here for a better life n also learned English on their own n became wealthy…..that has been the major differentiator that is much far greater ….do we want to killed oart of while are?….
Part of who we are…….that shows the ignorant n how illiterate people think otherwise not aware how why we became a power…..
A merit based System has been done by Canada and other countries for a long time. It would be innovative if new, but Trump is copying Canada’s from the time he spoke to Canadian president. We no longer lead……..but copy n paste it appears so…
An innovative idea for Congress n the presidency due to their performance n counterproductive work so far; would be, that the presidency & all Congress position s subjective to Merit Based.
All their finances, grades, psychologycal tests done before taking office. .
We should start where it matters first…. Full transparency since The People’s lives are at stake…..
There is nothing to agree with this statement it us simply a fact n well being that comes w/it
It is just enough drama n circus clowns like behaviour the last 8 years including this year the worst….!!!
MERIT-BASED IMMIGRATION
For the past several years,
family-connections have been the basis
for most authorized immigration:
New immigrants were admitted to the United States
because they had relatives already living here.
That reason was good for those families.
But it did not necessarily do anything for America.
Immigration reform is likely to change the criteria
for selecting new Americans
so that new immigrants will be selected
on the basis of what they can contribute to the USA.
We do not know exactly what factors will be considered,
but we can make some good common-sense guesses.
Foreign nationals who would like to come to America
can collect the facts about themselves
that will probably make them more desirable immigrants.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-jamesleonardpark—freelibrary-3puxk/CY-IDEAL.html
Mr. Stein,
There is a lot of pushback on the RAISE Act, as I’m sure you are aware. Most of it is emotional, as is a lot of the support. I’m looking for simple information, in a concise, easy-to-understand and share format. A bill like RAISE lends itself to a simple “now/then” chart. It’s fairly simple to find the parameters in the RAISE Act, but what I’m not finding is any comparison to the current SPECIFICS. I just see a lot of “it’s better” or “it’s racist” but not much that would let me know what is going to be different on the immigrant application, and what parameters the folks who approve or deny would use that would be different. If we’re going to be able to promote this bill, and monitor the changes as it goes through committee, and help folks to understand it, we really need that “current situation” comparison so we can show what specifically would be changing. Is that something that your organization can put together? You and I both know that pictures/memes work much better than paragraphs and even bullet points. Where can I find the “marketing info” that would help to promote this important bill? Thanks!