The RAISE Act

Today, Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark, and Senator David Perdue, R-Ga, with the strong backing of President Trump, introduced the RAISE Act immigration bill, which will sink the hopes and dreams of many legal immigrants if passed. It also cuts against the core values that have made the US an exceptional nation.

First, the clear goal of this bill is clear: to cut LEGAL immigration by 50%. Trump campaigned to build a border wall and remove “bad hombres.”

This bill reveals Trump’s true agenda, which is to destroy the family reunification that is the core value of our legal immigration system. Trump would eliminate the ability of U.S. citizens to bring their parents to the US, even if the adult children can fully support them!

This is just the beginning. Trump wants to eliminate the ability of all siblings to petition and again, legally sponsor their brother or sister to come to the US. The RAISE Act would also eliminate US citizen parents ability to financially and legally sponsor their adult children to join them here legally, a process that currently takes between 7-12 years.

An Attack on American Values

The RAISE Act doesn’t stop here. Unmarried adult children of lawful permanent residents would be barred, and in a devastating blow to American inclusiveness, the Diversity Lottery would be eliminated completely. This lottery allows 50,000 immigrants who pass rigorous background checks from nations with historically LOW immigration rates a shot at the American dream.

This bill is a fundamental attack upon who we are.

In summary, although Trump campaigned upon a thus far unfulfilled promise to build a wall with Mexico and deport bad criminals, this is really just a false pretense for his real goals. This bill is a fundamental attack upon who we are. Denying responsible citizens and residents the chance to bring their parents, children, siblings and diversity lottery immigrants will devastate families.