Immigration Reform: Trump Wants a 'Merit-Based System of Immigration'
Last week, reports surfaced that that U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have been pushing to cut the number of immigrants in America per year by half.
According to Politico, Trump and the members of his administration have also reportedly been working with two conservative senators to largely decrease legal immigration, which would help fulfill the President's major campaign promise.
The President is planning to pass a bill from Republican Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia later this summer. It was introduced earlier this year but is said to be re-introduced with a few changes.
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Originally, the bill would limit the types of the immigrants' family members who could also be brought into the country — such as spouses and minor children — discard the international diversity visa lottery, and limit the quantity of refugee admission each year.
Now, it is said to limit the number of immigrants based on what they can do, and not on whom they are related to.
According to CNN, Stephen Miller, a senior White House official, who is known for his aggressive attitude towards immigration, stated that the new bill will help filter out immigrants by only allowing them to enter the United States based on their skills and not through familial connections.
The publication was told that the point of all this is that President Trump strongly believes that America should have a "merit-based system of immigration."
Additionally, the official said, "What the merit-based system would do is bring our immigration policy more in line with what's good for American workers and taxpayers, so that's the overarching goal, and that I'm sure is the driving force behind talks with Congress and these senators."
As of now, according to U.S. News, it is quite unclear as to how this immigration roll-back will be applied. Only time will tell if this bill will be passed before summer ends.
