NPR’s Chain Migration Error

In her interview with Jose Antonio Vargas this week, NPR’s Rachel Martin mischaracterized separate proposals from David Frum and President Trump to reduce immigration.
MARTIN: David Frum, who is a vocal Trump critic, agrees with President Trump on this idea of getting rid of a rule that says one member of the family who immigrates to the U.S. can then bring other relatives in. Critics of this policy call it chain migration. Proponents call it family reunification. I mean, Frum says that should stop.
“Chain migration” and “family reunification” are not interchangeable terms. Nor is it accurate to suggest that immigrants would be unable to bring in any relatives under Frum’s or Trump’s proposals.
Chain migration was a factor in the decision of Barbara Jordan’s bi-partisan commission on immigration reform to recommended ending several extended-family preference categories in the green card system. Jordan’s commission explicitly prioritized nuclear family.