Trump’s Immigration Reform Bill Introduced
President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration reform, outlined in a new House Republican bill, aims to significantly limit legal immigration options. The plan focuses on attracting high-skilled workers and plans to abolish most family sponsorship categories while also ending the diversity visa lottery.
Immigration continues to be a divisive matter in Washington. Democrats are seeking to broaden paths to citizenship for immigrants, whereas Trump and his allies advocate for tighter immigration controls, including potentially ending birthright citizenship.
Congressman Barry Moore from Alabama has presented the Americans First Immigration Act, which seeks to revise certain key sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act to prioritize American citizens.
“My bill draws a hard line. The days of illegal immigrants and random diversity lottery tickets will be behind us. Our immigration system should support Americans, not work against them,” Moore remarked. “It’s about selecting individuals who will enhance our economy, follow our laws, and align with our values.”
Recent Legal Developments
A federal judge recently invalidated a Biden administration initiative that would have allowed illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens to gain legal status.
The 70-page Americans First Immigration Act aims to codify various measures initiated during the Trump administration to fortify legal immigration avenues. Notably, in 2025, Trump suspended the green card lottery following mass shootings at colleges and implemented executive orders to tighten H1B1 visa issuance.
Moore stated, “If you wish to move to America, it should be based on merit, not through diversity lottery loopholes. This bill will restore fairness and accountability by protecting American jobs, prioritizing nuclear families, and ensuring that all immigrants are ready to contribute positively.”
While the bill seeks to eradicate Diversity Lottery visas, it maintains a provision for 3,000 annual visas for religious workers.
Support for the Bill
Julie Kirchner, a senior adviser at the America First Policy Institute, expressed her backing for Moore’s bill, especially to eliminate the visa lottery. She emphasized that this lottery has been plagued by documented fraud and poses national security risks.
Another significant change proposed is a shift to a points-based merit system for employment-based immigrant visas. Under this system, applicants would be graded based on factors like English language skills, education, salary level, military service, and age. A minimum salary requirement would be set at 200% above the median wage for the applicant’s state, alongside English proficiency standards.
Employers would need to demonstrate that they made good faith efforts to hire U.S. workers before seeking foreign labor. The legislation also mandates that employers report the names and contact information of U.S. candidates considered for the job, along with the wages offered.
Moreover, immigrants awarded visas would have to submit a pledge affirming their commitment to uphold U.S. values and denounce any involvement with groups advocating harmful practices like honor killings or female infanticide.
Kirchner mentioned, “While pre-emptively denying entry would be the ideal situation, if a newly arrived immigrant behaves in a way that contradicts their statements to immigration authorities, that could lead to deportation.”
The bill also seeks to sharply reduce family-sponsored immigration, allowing it only for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens or green card holders. Parents, siblings, and adult children would not be permitted to immigrate based on these familial ties.
Kirchner noted that this reform would essentially disenfranchise extended families, stating, “They can still apply, but they will have to do so based on their skills and ability to assimilate.”
