Today (August 2nd 2017) Donald Trump introduced his new bill alongside Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia. The bill is called the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act or RAISE Act and it’s intent is to slash legal immigration levels in half over the next 10 years. Here’s what you need to know.

What Will The RAISE Act Do?

With the intention of cutting immigration, the RAISE Act will do the following:

It will limit the number of green cards awarded to foreigners each year.

It will prioritize green card awards to those who speak English, can financially support themselves and have job skills useful to the U.S.

It will cut the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. by half to 50,000 each year.

It will eliminate the Diversity Visa Program aka the green card lottery that randomly awards green cards to applicants.

It will reform the way extended family members of U.S. citizens get green cards by giving those with work-based skills priority.

It will prohibit those immigrants who hold green cards from receiving welfare (although they will still be required to pay into the state and federal tax system).

About a million immigrants got green cards in 2015, Tom Cotton stated that this bill will bring that number to 600,000 in its first year and within 10 years that number would regularly be at 500,000. Trump, Cotton, and Perdue are calling this a “merit-based system.” 

What Trump Is (Now) Saying

During Trump's campaign he spoke about undocumented immigrants and recently he stated that he did not want to reform legal immigration. When asked if he wanted to "curb legal immigration," he responded "Oh sure, you know, I want to stop illegal immigration." He was then asked "Do you want to cut the number of immigrations," to which he responded "Oh legal. No, no, no. I want people to come into the country legally." 

Perdue and Cotton proposed this bill earlier this year but it didn’t get much attention. Now with a huge healthcare loss, Trump is focusing on the topic that largely appealed to his fanbase: immigration. He’s using the same tactics he usually uses: by stating that immigrants are hurting the country and citizens. “Among those who have been hit hardest in recent years are immigrants and minority workers competing for jobs against brand new arrivals. It has not been fair to our people, our citizens and our workers,” Trump said.

Will This Bill Pass?

Currently the congressional Democrats are resisting the bill and some moderate Republicans too - mainly ones in states with large immigrant populations. There's also a huge amount of opposition from immigrant rights groups and business leaders. 

Trump is saying that immigrants hurt the economy but opponents are pointing out that they actually boost the economy. Trump stated the bill “will reduce poverty, increase wages and save taxpayers billions and billions of dollars.” Economists are also pointing to the low unemployment rate, 4.4 percent last month, as evidence that there are relatively few Americans who are without jobs now, and that, as Baby Boomers retire, there will be a labor shortage.

The RAISE Act will likely have a tough time passing in the Senate and the House however with the small majority, the republicans could squeak it by. 

What About That Press Conference?

After Trump’s announcement press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and senior adviser Stephen Miller had a press conference where things got... heated. Miller was questioned about the bill from reporters and as a response he started to hurl insults, he dismissed all questions about Trump hiring foreign workers, and argued with reporter Jim Acosta. It’s really something that can only been seen or read in it’s entirety so here’s a video of the exchange and here’s the full transcript of the press conference. 

Finally, during the press conference Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a piece of Trump fan mail (which is now a new tradition) from a little boy, Frank, who wanted to mow the White House lawn. She used this as to make the point: “It’s our responsibility to keep the American dream alive for kids like Frank, immigrants who are already here and those who dream of immigrating here in the future.” 

The Republican-backed proposal, which would significantly reduce the number of people allowed to legally immigrate to America, would weigh each person’s age, education, English ability, job offer salary, investments and even whether the person has an Olympic medal. The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act, or RAISE Act, favors people between the ages of 26 and 30 with a doctorate, high English proficiency and a job offer with a high salary. Applicants would need at least 30 points to be eligible to apply for a visa under the proposal…

I got 28 points. According to the RAISE Act, I’m not good enough to immigrate to my own country.

Take the survey here

I would not be eligible. My mom would not either. Take it and see how you fare.

Chances are you won’t. Apparently he only wants rich, seemingly-educated people with at least a million dollars to invest to come here.

I’ve basically just read the Wikipedia page, so I might be missing something, but I’m not loving this bill.

I’m generally going to be opposed to anything that cuts legal immigration. Maybe I’m biased because so many of my friends are legal immigrants or first generation Americans, but I think that in the long run, this country is strong because of the new people who come here every day looking to make the most of the opportunities they find here.

I don’t like that our current immigration system gives priority to relatives of current residents. I don’t like that it ignores those with potential in favor of those who are already successful. I don’t like the quota system that gives preference to some nationalities over others. I don’t like that it takes years and lawyers and money to come here.

Our legal immigration system is broken and that is why illegal immigration has become such a big issue. This bill isn’t going to fix any of it. It makes those issues worse.

Okay, so I went ahead and read this ridiculous “immigration reform” bill that was introduced here in the states today. To even know what it says you have to refer several different pieces of current legislation because it says things like:

SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF DIVERSITY VISA PROGRAM. (and don’t that just say it all)

(a) In General.—Section 203 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1153) is amended by striking subsection (c).

Here is a list of everything this bill, if it passes, would change:

People working for international companies would no longer be able to come here to work in US based offices of the same company, including executives.

Parents would no longer automatically get visas for eligible minor children. Each child would have to apply separately.

Once you have a visa you can no longer leave the country and come back. If you leave the US for any reason your visa would become invalid and you would have to reapply.

Redefines immediate relative as spouse and children only, meaning you can only sponsor those people for visas.

Further limits who can sponsor spouses and children for visas to naturalized citizens not visa holders.

Caps the amount of people able to gain refugee status at 50,000 people, regardless of circumstance like humanitarian situations such as fleeing from a war zone or natural disaster. It also states the power over how many people are granted asylum per year is solely at the discretion of the president.

States that immigrants are ineligible to work legally in the US for 5 yrs, and are ineligible for any public benefits. That if they have a child/children here, that child is also not eligible for benefits. It also further restricts parents who have already had children here, stating they are not eligible for visas unless they can prove they have provided private health insurance for their child/children.

Oddly enough, despite what Trump said in his press conference, I didn’t see a single mention of speaking English as a requirement. These strict requirements clearly seek to stop people from immigrating here at all. The only upside is that it’s unlikely to pass.