RAISE ACT BACKED BY TRUMP WOULD SLASH LEGAL IMMIGRATION IN HALF, REQUIRE ENGLISH AND SPECIAL SKILLS FOR ENTRY TO U.S.

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Major CEOs say bill would harm tech industry; policy has roots in racist organizaitons

By Miriam Raftery

August 3, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – Going far beyond rounding up  undocumented immigrations, President Donald Trump is now backing a bill that aims to cut legal immigration in half.  It proposes a skills-based immigration system that includes English proficiency and job skills, also prohibiting immigrants from bringing any family members here except for spouse and minor children.

The RAISE Act (Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act)  requirements are so strict that they would have barred President Trump’s own grandfather from coming to America, who did not speak English at the time, as well as ancestors of many other cabinet officials, the Washington Post reports.

It would impose a grading system for new immigrants to be judged on their median salary, advanced degrees, ability to speak English, skills needed by the economy, and whether they can afford to buy healthcare, CNN reports.   The bill was introduced by Republican Senators David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

That’s a far cry from the promise on the Statue of Liberty, which reads: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

The measure, if in place a few decades ago, would have prevented this news editor’s grandparents from entering the U.S. They were dirt poor and spoke no English, fleeing oppression in Europe. Their youngest son, my father, became an aerospace engineer who designed flight paths for most of the Atlas, Mercury, Gemini and some Apollo space missions.  

Trump’s top policy aide, Stephen Miller called the measure “a major promise to the American people to push for merit-based immigration reform that protects U.s. workers, protects U.S. taxpayers, and protects the U.S. economy, and that prioritizes the needs of our own citizens…”

But Wired.com reports that high tech leaders oppose the measure and believe it will harm, not help, the U.S. economy and make it hard to fill the many jobs in the high tech business since top workers won’t want to come here if it means splitting up their families.

“We should make it easier for people to come here and contribute, not just eliminate the family-based immigration system and pretend that’s a more merit-based system,” says Todd Schulte, president of the bipartisan immigration lobbying firm FWD.us founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other tech industry leaders.

PayPal cofounder Max Levchin, who  arrived in the U.S. as a refugee granted asylum, says this measure would “severely harm our economic growth and eliminate our greatest global economic competitive advantage: our ability to attract the best and brightest.”

By forcing even legal, highly skilled immigrants to “kiss their families goodbye” the bill would likely result in more immigrants bypassing the U.S. to settle in Canada, where new visa programs have made the nation a haven to tech entrepreneurs choosing Canada over the U.S.

AOL cofounder Steve Case observes that “40 percent of Fortune 500 businesses were started by immigrants and their children,” adding that the RAISE Act could “repel the very talent that we want to attract.”

Some assert that the measure is motivated not by economic incentives, but by racism.  The RAISE ACT bears close resemblance to proposals touted on anti-immigration organizations including such listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Those groups were the brainchild of John Tanton, who has touted racism and anti-immigrant policies.  He has advocated “passive eugenics”, argued that Hitler gave eugenics a bad rap, and has been funded for nearly four decades by groups advocating racially-oriented population control.

The RAISE Act, however, may well be quashed by Congress.

CNN reports that the bill is a longshot that has drawn opposition from both Democrats and Republicans.

Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego), whose district includes much of East County as well as San Diego communities, issued a statement denouncing the RAISE act.  ““We've long been told that this Administration's hateful rhetoric about immigration is only aimed at preventing illegal immigration,” she notes.

The  Congresswoman concludes, “This is a clear sign that the President has no intention of bringing forward comprehensive immigration reform that creates legal streamlined processes while acknowledging the immense value that immigrants bring to our communities.”


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Comments

America

Nearly everyone on this planet wants to come to America for obvious reasons. So, should we allow everyone to come here? More so, pay their way here and then support them for the rest of their lives? Many are not learning the language, obtaining skills and trying to assimilate or give back to this country. Most don't come here to join the military and go back and fight wars on their homeland. We pay their rent, medical, education and everything else so most have no urgent need to do much of anything once they get here. Yes, there are exceptions. Of course. But we are not adding quality to our country, we are adding quantity and our citizens are paying dearly with their taxes. They work hard and should give to their own families first. It impacts our children's eduction, everyone's medical and every other facet of our existence in this country. i am not racist and I understand why people are fleeing their homelands but maybe they should stay, take a stand and make their own homes a better place. i know our country would support them in this. Also, overpopulation a serious matter, we need to consider Most citizens here realize this and don't have huge families. Most here want quality of life. The news on this paper is so biased, I can't take any of it seriously. Drain the swamp!!

Thanks Donald

Thanks Donald for envoking and empowering your Base! Today it finally happened! Sleep Well tonight President Trump. Very Sad

https://youtu.be/iTACH1eVIaA

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, a Trump supporter who was in Charlottesville on Saturday, quickly replied. “I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists,” he wrote.

Is this why OUR President didn't call out specifically the KKK, Natzi's, and White Supremiciast's like he has so many others? First Trump Rule - Never, never, never call out your Base?

Thanks, but we'll pass

We already saw this brand of Nationalism rise to power in the 1930's.
Attempts to strip us of our Ideals and blame outsiders or those that are most vulnerable is simply taking advantage of the ignorant and the most utilized tool in the very limited bag of tricks of this current Administration. Behind all the bluster and rage is a very limp and insecure man inspiring only hatred and racism. The GOP that endorsed him is turning its back on him, finally!

Silly poem does not replace the rule of law

Feelings do not replace the rule of law. Feelings do not replace sanity and the rights of the People to determine who comes into the Republic. The Republic has room for productive people, not those trying to infect us with their third world lifestyles.
As for the obvious bigotry toward white Europeans, English is spoken all over the world as a primary language. History can also show until the ted kennedy sponsored bill to change immigration in the 60's, Europeans were the largest groups.
Again a bit of research can replace far left talking points and provide an honest view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territorial_entities_where_English...
http://www.5minuteenglish.com/english-around-world.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English-speaking_world

Lets also remember 22% of the federal prison population are foreigners

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/more-than-90-percent-of-foreign-born-f...
http://thehill.com/latino/331619-doj-releases-data-on-incarceration-rate...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/1/immigrants-22-percent-fed...

Great idea , open the doors to anybody because of a silly poem. Time to re-examine ones views and ask why they don't care about the rest of the citizens.

Maybe?

We will have to start educating out children so they will have the skills to do the jobs opening in the US and the desire to work for a living. We don't even have enough willing workers to swing a hammer as that is below the current crop of Snowflakes willingness to work. Like the man said, there are 7 billion people in the world. We can't let them all in

Poor people don't have the means to send their kids to college

to learn high tech skills etc.  In many parts of the world, people are fleeing because their children are being threatened, as in Central America, where drug cartels tell parents they will murder family members one at a time if teens don't work for the cartel.

If you were a parent there, what would you do?  

If we're going to set immigration limits, there should be limits on white Europeans too, not just people of color or those who most need the opportunities here.

Many, many businesses are started by immigrants,  not just big tech companies but small businesses, too. In El Cajon nearly all the stores on Main St. were boarded up a few years ago, it was a dying downtown. The most successful business was a XXX bookstore.  Now the downtown is thriving thanks to Iraqi and Mexican immigrants who rented up space and started new businesses such as upscale clothing stores, beauty salons, restaurants and markets.  The Americans weren't doing that.

 

 

 

 

 

The poem has no basis for law

The poem has no basis for law, nor is it the law. It is a silly poem that was used to raise funds, the history behind it is easy to find. As for the statue it is NOT there as to set law or determine immigration but to honor the beacon of liberty. This history is also easy to find. If people want to have a person reason or belief that is fine, making up history and pushing a fake narrative is not.
Hysteria does not make for the truth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Colossus
https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/the-french-connection.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty

Many don't think that poem is silly, it's a symbol of welcome

to newcomers that our country has long stood for. How does it "honor the beacon of liberty" to take away that welcoming beacon for anyone who doesn't speak English or have job skills?

As a granddaughter of legal immigrants who fled Germany before Hitler killed the rest of the family,  I find this the most offensive thing yet that Trump has done.  People who are poor but willing to work hard should have the hope of coming to America, perhaps after a wait list, but should never have that door slammed in their face.  Also this smacks of racism, since mostly it would only be white Europeans who already speak fluent English. Not to many poor folks from Africa, Asia, etc. would have that, or a higher education degree.