Speech #1090135723

President. I would like to share some thoughts about another amendment. It deals with chain migration. It would reduce chain migration by eliminating the provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act that allow parents and adult brothers and sisters to immigrate to the United States based solely on their family connections. Chain migration refers to the mechanism by which foreign nationals have the right to immigrate to the United States by virtue of one single characteristic: they are related to someone who previously immigrated to the United States. Chain migration does not refer to spouses and dependent children of immigrants. That does not encompass wives and children. Nothing in this amendment would say that a green card holder. a legal permanent resident or citizen would not be able to bring spouses and children. That will remain the law under this amendment. No changes are made whatsoever. But for immigrants who become citizens. chain migration refers to their ability to bring in parents. brothers and sisters. and spouses. and children of their brothers and sisters. You get to bring in your parents. your brothers and sisters. and the spouses and children of your brothers and sisters. People who immigrate based on this family relationship are in no way evaluated for their skill levels. their age. their English proficiency. or if they are needed by the American economy whatever skills they have. How they will benefit the United States is completely irrelevant to this process. The only relevant characteristic is their family connection. Until the late 1950s. American family immigration policy focused solely on the nuclear family. only spouses and minor dependent children of the immigrant were allowed to immigrate solely on their family connection. In the late 1950s. family migration policies of the United States began to extend beyond children and spouses. Immigrants were allowed to bring in their adult unmarried children. You are here. you can bring in adult children from that foreign country. But they are unmarried. and you can bring them. Immigrants who became citizens were allowed to bring in their married adult children and their parents and their brothers and sisters. parents and brothers and sisters. and adult children can bring in their own spouse and their children. If the extended spouse has parents and siblings. they. too. can get in line to immigrate to the United States based solely on the family connection. To show you a little bit how this works--it sounds a bit complicated. By viewing the charts behind me. maybe we can make this a little bit clearer. Here are the people in green. That means they possess a green card. You can get green cards in any number of ways if you come in under the language of this legislation that is so inaccurate. Let me say it that way. Under the rubric they call a temporary guest worker. the first day you are here. your employer can apply for a green card. and within a month presumably you will get that green card. Once you become a green card holder. you become green on that chart. but you also became a permanent resident of the United States. not a citizen. What happens when you become a permanent resident? You can immediately bring in your spouse and your children. maybe half a dozen children.