President Trump is pushing forward with his promise of a harder line on legal immigration, endorsing a proposal to slash the number of immigrants admitted to the United States, while favoring those with certain education levels and skills.
Trump announced his support for such an overhaul of immigration law during an event at the White House with conservative Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia.
The changes proposed in their bill, called the RAISE Act, would be the "biggest change in 50 years" to the immigration system, Trump said, and reflect the administration's "compassion for struggling American families that deserve an immigrant system that puts their needs first."
White House staff have been working closely with Cotton and Perdue for weeks on the legislation, which would restrict how the U.S. admits immigrants, and move to what Trump described as a "merit-based" system similar to that used in Australia and Canada.
The proposal "ends chain migration," Trump said, referring to the preference for uniting family members in the current immigration system. It would implement a points-based system for awarding lawful permanent residency, or green cards.
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