US

More Than 70 Percent Of Immigrants Came From Chain Migration

OSCAR RIVERA/AFP/Getty Images

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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Statistics revealed by the White House show that more than 70 percent of immigrants between 2005 and 2015 came through a process known as chain migration, Fox News reported Thursday.

The Trump administration wants to reform chain migration, which allows allows immigrants to sponsor family members.

The Fox News report found that 9.3 million new immigrants between 2005 and 2015 receive lawful permanent residence status (green cards) through chain migration. This represented more than 70 percent of legal migration during this period, according to Fox News. The report said the White House stated that chain migration was “the primary driver of low-skill workers’ entry into the U.S.”

President Trump has called on Congress to reform the current legal immigration system. The RAISE Act, a bill introduced by Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Tom Cotton, is backed by the White House and would reform chain migration. It is estimated to reduce legal immigration from 1 million new immigrants a year to 539,958 over the next ten years, a reduction of 50 percent.

“Yeah, I agree with Cotton and Perdue,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham Wednesday about the need to address this influx of immigrants through family ties.