WSJ RAISE Act Column Wrong on Facts, Ignores Population Stabilization Component

The strongly pro-immigration Wall Street Journal is worried that the RAISE Act might block talented foreign-born scientists, engineers, and other professionals from coming to the United States. The Journal’s misleadingly titled commentary ”The Nobel Laureate Exclusion Act, No Future Geniuses Need Apply,” is wrong on its facts, and ignores RAISE’s main objective—to end chain migration and to reduce the nation’s unsustainable population growth.

Referring to RAISE as “draconian,” the op-ed doesn’t acknowledge that about half the permanent residency cards issued to foreign nationals go to individuals are already in the U.S. and who arrived on any of a variety of non-immigrant visas, mostly employment-based and predominantly H-1B.

Nowhere does the RAISE Act mention eliminating or even cutting non-immigrant employment-based visas. “Geniuses” will still be apply for visas, and in all likelihood, the RAISE Act’s point system would enhance their applications’ approval odds.

Under the RAISE Act, however, eliminating preferences for certain categories of extended and adult family members which would gradually reduce legal immigration from the current one million annual level to 500,000, the Diversity Visa would be eliminated, and refugee resettlement would be cut to 50,000 per year.

Slashing chain migration is vital to stabilizing population. The chain adds hundreds of thousands more people to a nation whose population is booming. Regardless of skill or age, everyone in the chain qualifies for employment authorization documents.

The RAISE Act, just beginning the congressional process, needs all the help it can get from the majority of citizens who want less immigration and less crowding. Please go to the CAPS Action Alert page here to tell your Senators to support RAISE, and to slow immigration-driven population growth.