On August 2, 2017, Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, with the support of President Trump, introduced the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE), which would eliminate the immigration system that we know today and replace it with a points-based system that ignores the benefits of family unity and the needs of U.S. employers. The bill limits the ability of US citizens to sponsor extended family (including parents, siblings and older/married children), replaces the current system with a points-based system that fails to adequately take into consideration the needs of U.S. employers, reduces the number of refugees admitted to the United States, and eliminates the diversity program.
N&M wholeheartedly supports the position of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in regards to this bill: “The RAISE Act is an attack on legal immigration that would slash the number of immigrants the U.S. welcomes each year without a reasonable correlation to family reunification or the economic needs of our nation. Our country needs a strong immigration system that recognizes the value of families and the needs of U.S. businesses. This bill fails to recognize that strong families contribute to the economy and operates on the false assumption that legal immigration harms our economy.”