Congressman Rooney and Senator Cotton introduce RAISE Act to fix our broken visa and immigration system

Statement

Today, Congressman Francis Rooney introduced the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) to establish skills-based immigration, to end chain migration and to eliminate the Diversity Visa program.

Congressman Rooney stated, "The United States immigration system is broken. Only one in every 15 immigrants to our country are granted visas because of their skills, and we do not prioritize the ultra high-skilled immigrants who spur innovation, create jobs, and make America more competitive. The system we have now supports programs like the Diversity Visa Lottery, which does not add skills or competitive workers to our workplace, and "chain migration," whereby once a person enters, their family relations can automatically come to the U.S. regardless of their employability.

"Together with Senator Tom Cotton, I introduced the RAISE Act to end these failed programs and replace them with a merit-based system that considers education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, age, record of extraordinary achievement, and entrepreneurial initiative. Passing this legislation, along with legislation that I have cosponsored to fix the asylum-seeking process and mandate e-verify, will provide significantly better immigration policy and greater control of our borders."

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