As President Trump announced his support for the Reforming American Immigration for a strong Economy Act (RAISE), proposed by Senators David Purdue (R-GA) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), fellow Republicans in the Senate blasted the bill for its provisions in cutting legal immigration by half.
“Unfortunately, the other part of this proposal would reduce legal immigration by half, including many immigrants who work legally in our agriculture, tourism and service industries,” Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said in a statement.
He continued, “South Carolina’s number one industry is agriculture, and tourism is number two. If this proposal were to become law, it would be devastating to our state’s economy, which relies on this immigrant workforce.”
Restaurants and coastal resorts strongly support Senator Lindsey Graham through political financial contributions.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) also voiced strong support for his state’s major industries as a chief factor in opposing any future cuts in legal immigration.
I’m all for merit-based and skills-based immigration, and a legal immigration system… but we need to make sure we have an immigration system that allows enough people into this country to make sure that we can staff manufacturers and dairy farms and all of our organizations that grow our economy.
Both senators are significant proponents of mass immigration into the United States.
In July, Senator Lindsey Graham called for granting citizenship to 1.5 million illegal immigrants who were brought into the United States illegally as children. He also called for increasing importation of foreign workers.
Around 1.5 million foreign workers with temporary visas arrive in the United States annually to compete in the labor market with the four million Americans who turn 18 each year.
Ron Johnson also strongly supports helping businesses through mass immigration.
In May, he proposed allowing states to import 500,000 foreign workers to replace Americans who were out of the labor market. The legislation did not consider helping American citizens re-enter the labor market who were out of the workforce for a variety of reasons including drug addiction.
The fact that at least two Republican senators strongly oppose the RAISE act puts its success in doubt given their slim 52-seat majority in the chamber and Democratic opposition to the legislation.
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