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Featured Issue: Congressional Efforts to Curb Legal Immigration

9/21/17 AILA Doc. No. 17080342. Business Immigration, Family Immigration
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On 8/2/17, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) introduced the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act (S. 1720), , a bill that attacks the legal immigration system and ignores the needs of U.S. businesses and families. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced a House companion bill to the RAISE Act, entitled the Immigration in the National Interest Act (H.R. 3775) on 9/14/17.

AILA strongly opposes the RAISE Act, which does nothing to reform our outdated immigration system, yet seeks to curtail legal immigration levels over the next decade.

Among other things, the RAISE Act:

  • Aims to cut immigration by at least half from current levels without a reasonable correlation to family reunification or the economic needs of our nation and which would mark a major shift in U.S. immigration law
  • Creates a "points-based" system that fails to take into account the needs of U.S. businesses
  • All but eliminates family-based immigration, by restricting U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsoring only spouses and minor children for green cards
  • Reduces the number of refugees admitted to the U.S. to 50,000 per year, contrary to our nation's proud tradition of serving as a beacon of hope for people fleeing persecution
  • Ends the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program which has awarded 50,000 green cards annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the U.S.

Read bill text and current congressional actions:

  • S. 1720: Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act

AILA's Statement and Resources


Speak Out in Support of Improving Our Immigration System


Members of Congress Oppose RAISE Act

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