The Truth About Chain Migration

Barbara Jordan once said “immigration is a privilege, not a right. It is a privilege granted by the people of the United States to those we choose to admit.” That’s the way it should be. But that’s not the immigration policy we have. Congress long ago outsourced the job of choosing immigrants to immigrants themselves. Watch our video (like and leave a comment).

The current immigration system creates an endless “chain migration” of distant relatives, and a level of mass legal immigration – over one million per year – that is not sustainable. Mass immigration takes half a trillion dollars every year from working Americans. American communities, meanwhile, cannot protect their environmental quality of life while the government insists on adding the equivalent of the entire population of Sweden every decade.

Legislative History of Chain Migration

1924 — Congress exempted unmarried adult children aged 18-21 from per country quotas for green cards.

1952 — Congress created green card categories for parents, adult children, and adult siblings in a
limited number of countries. Highly-educated or skilled immigrants, however, received priority.

Average annual green cards issued 1952-1965: 265,520

“Immigration during the decade 1951-1960 totaled 2,515,479, the
highest since the 1920s.” – Congressional Research Service

1965 — Congress extended the chains to every country of the world and reversed the priority so
that the chain categories had preference over skill categories.

Average annual green cards issued doubled over the next 25 years (1965-1990): 530,462

1990 — Congress raised the caps on chain categories.

Average annual green cards issued since 1990 doubled again to more than 1 million every year.

Recommendation: End Chain Migration

The Immigration Act of 1990 doubled legal immigration to a total that was quadruple the level established during the mid-20th century. But the bill also called for a bi-partisan commission to “review and evaluate the impact of this Act and the amendments made by this Act” and to issue findings and recommendations on (among other things) the “impact of immigration…on labor needs, employment, and other economic and domestic conditions in the United States.”

That commission, chaired by Barbara Jordan, recommended the elimination of the
following Chain Migration categories.

○ Adult, unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens;
○ Adult, married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens;
○ Adult, unmarried sons and daughters of legal permanent residents, and;
○ Siblings of U.S. citizens.

Rep. Elijah Crane and Sen. Jim Banks’ bill to end chain migration

As its name suggests, the Nuclear Family Priority Act (H.R. 2705; S. 1328) would limit family-based green cards to spouses and minor children. The legislation is a NumbersUSA Great Immigration Solutions bill, and would – at long last – fulfill a key recommendation of the U.S. Commission on Immigration reform, chaired by Barbara Jordan by eliminating the adult siblings of U.S. citizens and adult children of U.S. citizens categories for family-based green cards. The bill would also eliminate green cards for parents of U.S. citizens, but still allow parents to live in the country with renewable visas. The bill would reduce legal immigration by more than 250,000 per year.

Congress needs to stop mass immigration by ending the chain migration process so we can choose immigrants based on their merits and America’s needs – not their extended family relations. Urge your 3 Members of Congress to pass the Nuclear Family Priority Act.