Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment …

1 < < strong >Strongstrong > >Reformingstrong >Strongstrong > > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Americanstrong >Strongstrong > > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > for < strong >Strongstrong > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Employmentstrong >Strongstrong > > Act (RAISE Act) A Bill to Restore Historical Legal < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > Levels & Give Working Americans a Fair Shot at Wealth Creation The Problem For over a quarter century, the United States has accepted an average of 1 million immigrants annually the equivalent of adding the entire state of Montana each year. But when only 1 out of every 15 immigrants arrives in the United States on a skills-based visa, the majority of the remaining immigrants are either low-skill or unskilled. This generation-long influx of low-skilled labor has been a major factor in the downward pressure on the wages of working Americans, with the wages of recent immigrants hardest hit.

2 Wages for Americans with only high school diplomas have declined by 2 percent since the late 1970s, and for those who didn t finish high school, they have declined by nearly 20 percent. This collapse in wages threatens to create a near permanent underclass for whom the < < strong >Strongstrong > >Americanstrong >Strongstrong > > Dream is always just out of reach. The RAISE Act Solution The < < strong >Strongstrong > >Reformingstrong >Strongstrong > > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Americanstrong >Strongstrong > > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > for < strong >Strongstrong > < < strong >Strongstrong > >Employmentstrong >Strongstrong > > Act (RAISE Act) will help raise < < strong >Strongstrong > >Americanstrong >Strongstrong > > workers wages by reducing overall < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > by half and rebalancing the system toward < < strong >Strongstrong > >Employmentstrong >Strongstrong > > -based visas and immediate family household members. Specifically, the RAISE Act would: Prioritize Immediate Family Households. The RAISE Act would retain < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > preferences for the spouses and minor children of citizens and legal permanent residents.

3 It would eliminate preferences for the extended and adult family members of residents, including: Adult parents of citizens Adult siblings of citizens Unmarried adult children of citizens Married adult children of citizens Unmarried adult children of legal permanent residents Create Temporary Visa for Parents in Need of Caretaking. For citizens who wish to bring elderly parents in need of caretaking to the United States, the RAISE Act creates a renewable temporary visa on the condition that the parents are not permitted to work, cannot access public benefits, and must be guaranteed support and health insurance by their sponsoring children. Eliminate Outdated Diversity Visa Lottery.

4 The Diversity Lottery is plagued with fraud, advances no economic or humanitarian interest, and does not even deliver the diversity of its namesake. The RAISE Act would eliminate the 50,000 visas arbitrarily allocated to this lottery. Place Responsible Limit on Permanent Residency for Refugees. The RAISE Act would limit refugees offered permanent residency to 50,000 per year, in line with a 13-year average. The RAISE Act s Effect on < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > Levels Reduce Overall < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > by 41% in Its First Year and 50% by Year 10. According to < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > projection models based on the work of Princeton and Harvard professors, the RAISE Act would lower overall < < strong >Strongstrong > >Immigrationstrong >Strongstrong > > to 637,960 in its first year and to 539,958 by its tenth year a 50 percent reduction from the 1,051,031 immigrants who arrived in 2015.

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