Tuberville Introduces Bill Putting American Workers First, Overhauling America’s Immigration System

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Americans First Immigration Act which would overhaul the nation's legal immigration system by prioritizing American workers, strengthening the nuclear family, and ensuring newcomers are selected based solely on merit.

"Our current immigration system does little to evaluate the type of people we let in - it's a free-for-all," said Sen. Tuberville. "Coming to the United States is a privilege, and we need to ensure that anyone immigrating to our country is willing to go by our laws and contribute to our society. We can't allow this current system to continue prioritizing foreign workers who aren't willing to assimilate to our values. I'm proud to introduce the Americans First Immigration Act to end disastrous diversity lotteries and instead shift to a merit-based admissions process. I'll keep fighting to put AMERICANS first."

"My bill draws a hard line - the days of putting illegals, random diversity lotteries, and foreign labor ahead of American workers are over," said Rep. Barry Moore. "Our immigration system should serve the American people, not undercut them, and that means selecting individuals who will strengthen our economy, respect our laws, and share our values. If you want to come to the United States, you should earn it through merit, not diversity lotteries or loopholes. The Americans First Immigration Act restores fairness and accountability by protecting American jobs, prioritizing the nuclear family, and ensuring that every immigrant admitted is prepared to contribute and succeed. This legislation is about putting American citizens first and taking back control of our nation's future."

"The Americans First Immigration Act is groundbreaking legislation that will end mass immigration and reorient our green card system to serve the national interest. We are in the midst of the longest wave of mass immigration in American history, rooted in random selection and chain migration. Decades of broken promises have produced a system that gives away green cards through a lottery and prioritizes extended-family relationships over skills - and American workers and taxpayers have paid the price. It's long past time that we overhaul our green card system to put Americans first. The Americans First Immigration Act will restore the promise and purpose of immigration by promoting economic opportunity and self-sufficiency, and in the process, will result in saving taxpayer dollars, increasing wages and enhancing opportunities for Americans," said Michael Hough, Co-President of NumbersUSA.

"America has suffered under an immigration system that virtually ignores merit while selecting immigrants based on random lotteries and extended family ties for years. The result has been a mass influx of less-skilled, lower-wage-earning newcomers who are more likely to use public welfare programs and drain taxpayer dollars. The Americans First Immigration Act, if passed, would deliver long-overdue reform by prioritizing immigrants based on skill and merit, and helping ensure that individuals who truly represent the best and brightest and who truly want to become Americans are invited to join our nation. This benefits all Americans," said Chad Wolf, Chair of Homeland Security & Immigration, America First Policy Institute.

"The Americans First Immigration Act will help stop the massive inflow of cheap, low-wage foreign workers that directly harms America's poor, and instead create a merit-based one that rewards education, skills, and self-sufficiency, ultimately benefiting the U.S. economy. Our immigration system should be built around improving America, instead of rewarding immigrants based on family relationships or random lotteries. Simply put, the legislation prioritizes the interests of the American people, instead of corporate interest groups, and creates a strong legal immigration system that is long overdue," said Ken Cuccinelli, Senior Fellow for Immigration and Homeland Security, Center of Renewing America.

"Securing our border and restoring fairness to our immigration system is a top priority for the American people. We currently have an outdated system of chain migration and random lotteries, our workforce gets flooded with cheap, low-skilled labor at the expense of American workers, and our welfare programs get drained by illegal aliens who abuse the system. The Americans First Immigration Act would finally turn our immigration system to one based on merit. Americans should have a say in who stays in America. Now with this bill, they will," said Ashley Hayek, President, America First Works.

"Since the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965, chain migration has driven immigration to historic levels. These extended family members are allowed to permanently immigrate to the U.S. without any consideration of their skills, their ability to be self-sufficient, or desire to assimilate. By eliminating chain migration and implementing a merit-based immigration system, the Americans First Immigration Act would make landmark reforms that moderate the overall level of immigration and finally place the interests of Americans first," said Julie Kirchner, Senior Advisor, Homeland Security & Immigration, America First Policy Institute.

Representative Barry Moore (R-AL-01) introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this year.

NumbersUSA, America First Policy Institute, Center for Renewing America, and America First Works endorsed the bill.

Read full text of the bill here.

BACKGROUND:

The America First Immigration Act replaces outdated and arbitrary policies with a system rooted in merit, accountability, and economic strength. The legislation eliminates the Diversity Visa Lottery and replaces it with a modern, points-based model that rewards skill, education, English proficiency, and high-value job offers. This legislation also narrows family-sponsored immigration to refocus our system on the nuclear family while strengthening protections for American workers by requiring employers to recruit domestically first and pay fair wages.

Specifically, the America First Immigration Act would:

• End the Diversity Visa Lottery and replacing randomness with a merit-based system.
• Prioritize the nuclear family by limiting family-sponsored immigration to spouses and minor children.
• Create a points-based immigration system that rewards education, English proficiency, high-paying job offers, military service, and extraordinary achievement.
• Require employers to recruit American workers first and ensure foreign labor does not displace U.S. workers.
• Require applicants to affirm constitutional principles and reject un-American practices such as honor killings and female genital mutilation.
• Preserve a capped allocation for religious workers while eliminating lower-priority pathways.
• Require public colleges and universities to charge non-permanent residents at least the out-of-state tuition rate.
• Streamline legal immigration to focus on long-term economic contribution and assimilation.

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

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