Newsletter: Americans First Immigration Act, Meet the Senate

Your Senators now have a bill that would end chain migration and the visa lottery. Sen. Tommy Tuberville introduced the Americans First Immigration Act (S. 5485) this week.

The bill would modernize immigration by replacing a system built on luck with an intentional merit-based program that requires employers to prioritize American workers and the rule of law. It would preserve immigration for spouses and minor children, end extended-family “chain migration” and the visa lottery, and reduce overall numbers by roughly 275,000 per year while maintaining the most generous immigration levels in the world.

Rep. Barry Moore introduced the House version (H.R. 8586) earlier this year. With Sen. Tuberville’s bill, every member of Congress now has a chance to support an immigration system that puts Americans first.

Congress has only the lame-duck session left.

Will your Senators be the first to cosponsor?

Visit your Action Board.

Take the next step: Check out your representative’s grade card and look at the Chain Migration category. Chances are, there is more they can do. We need to build support for the Americans First Immigration Act in the House as well.

In Other News

• H-1B: President Trump issued an executive order that “directs the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider petitioner employers’ recent or planned layoffs of similarly situated U.S. workers when considering H-1B visa applications.”
• Refugees: The Trump Administration plans to allocate 17,500 slots for refugees in FY2027, primarily for Afrikaners from South Africa. The low ceiling is welcome, but the refugee system needs lasting reform that limits it to critical-need refugees with no hope of return and nowhere else to go. 
• Birth Tourism: Sec. Rubio announced a new visa restriction policy that “targets individuals who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.” Bills like Sen. Cornyn’s S. 4501 would codify similar policies into law. See our bill tracker.

NumbersUSA In The News

This week I responded to Rep. Maria Salazar in Townhall. Salazar called on the President to “be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery.” I think Booker T. Washington had the better answer: “cast down your bucket where you are.” Right now 17 million Americans are unemployed, stuck in part-time work, or sitting on the sidelines. Her Dignity Act (H.R. 4393) would add roughly as many permanent foreign workers.

My colleague Jim Robb talked to the Daily Caller about our California sprawl report. “One of the biggest issues is the length of commutes and constant jamming of all the highways,” Jim said.

Our grade cards got some love this week too. On the Bill Meyer Show in Medford, Oregon, a former ICE and USCIS chief of staff pointed listeners our way: “They review every bill, they look at your Members of Congress [and] grade them.”

Campus Reform built a story around our social media series on the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act (H.R. 8443), which would cut the H-1B cap from 65,000 to 25,000. Thirteen of the bill’s sponsors and cosponsors earned an A+ in our “Stop Excess Work Visas” category. Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) was “honored to have earned an A+ from NumbersUSA.”

In Alabama, Yellowhammer News noted that Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Barry Moore both earned perfect grades from us. They lead the Americans First Immigration Act in their chambers. “Proud to have earned a perfect 100 score from @numbersUSA,” Tuberville posted.

Quote of the Week

“Our message to corporate America is simple: We’re not going to let you lay off American workers so you can replace them with cheap foreign labor.” – Vice President Vance