President Trump and Congressional leaders announced a new ‘merit-based’ immigration system on Wednesday, introducing new guidelines that would encourage immigrants with key skills and the ability to speak English to come to the United States.
The President, alongside Georgia Sen. David Perdue and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, unveiled the updated policies at the White House, saying they were “the most significant reform to our immigration system in a half century.”
“As a candidate, I campaigned on creating a merit-based immigration system that protects U.S. workers and taxpayers, and that is why we are here today, Merit-based,” said the President.
“The RAISE [Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment] Act will reduce poverty, increase wages, and save taxpayers billions and billions of dollars,” he added. “It will do this by changing the way the United States issues green cards to nationals from other countries.”
“The RAISE Act ends chain-migration and replaces our low-scale system with a new points-based system for receiving a green card. This competitive application process will favor applicants who can speak English, eventually support themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy,” said Trump.
Watch the President announce the new immigration system above.