English subtitles for clip: File:President Trump Makes an Announcement with Senator Tom Cotton and Senator David Perdue.webm
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,840 The President: Thank you very much. 2 00:00:01,835 --> 00:00:03,405 It's great to be here today to unveil 3 00:00:03,403 --> 00:00:06,573 legislation that would represent the most 4 00:00:06,573 --> 00:00:10,443 significant reform to our immigration system 5 00:00:10,443 --> 00:00:12,513 in half a century. 6 00:00:12,512 --> 00:00:15,582 I want to thank Senators Tom Cotton and David 7 00:00:15,582 --> 00:00:19,052 Perdue for their tremendous work in putting 8 00:00:19,052 --> 00:00:23,552 together this historic and very vital proposal. 9 00:00:23,556 --> 00:00:25,826 As a candidate, I campaigned on creating a 10 00:00:25,825 --> 00:00:30,235 merit-based immigration system that protects U.S. 11 00:00:30,230 --> 00:00:33,130 workers and taxpayers -- and that is why 12 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:34,833 we are here today. 13 00:00:34,834 --> 00:00:36,834 Merit-based. 14 00:00:36,836 --> 00:00:42,746 The RAISE Act -- R-A-I-S-E -- the RAISE Act will 15 00:00:42,742 --> 00:00:46,712 reduce poverty, increase wages, and save taxpayers 16 00:00:46,713 --> 00:00:49,383 billions and billions of dollars. 17 00:00:49,382 --> 00:00:51,352 It will do this by changing the way the 18 00:00:51,351 --> 00:00:55,551 United States issues Green Cards to nationals from 19 00:00:55,555 --> 00:00:57,025 other countries. 20 00:00:57,023 --> 00:00:59,923 Green Cards provide permanent residency, work 21 00:00:59,926 --> 00:01:04,396 authorization, and fast track to citizenship. 22 00:01:04,397 --> 00:01:07,037 For decades, the United States was operated and 23 00:01:07,033 --> 00:01:10,103 has operated a very low-skilled immigration 24 00:01:10,103 --> 00:01:13,843 system, issuing record numbers of Green Cards to 25 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,840 low-wage immigrants. 26 00:01:16,843 --> 00:01:19,243 This policy has placed substantial pressure on 27 00:01:19,245 --> 00:01:21,015 American workers, taxpayers and 28 00:01:21,014 --> 00:01:22,284 community resources. 29 00:01:22,282 --> 00:01:25,152 Among those hit the hardest in recent years 30 00:01:25,151 --> 00:01:28,491 have been immigrants and, very importantly, minority 31 00:01:28,488 --> 00:01:30,488 workers competing for jobs against 32 00:01:30,490 --> 00:01:32,860 brand-new arrivals. 33 00:01:32,859 --> 00:01:36,399 And it has not been fair to our people, to our 34 00:01:36,396 --> 00:01:38,796 citizens, to our workers. 35 00:01:38,798 --> 00:01:42,768 The RAISE Act ends chain migration, and replaces 36 00:01:42,769 --> 00:01:45,909 our low-skilled system with a new points-based 37 00:01:45,905 --> 00:01:49,405 system for receiving a Green Card. 38 00:01:49,409 --> 00:01:51,849 This competitive application process will 39 00:01:51,845 --> 00:01:56,415 favor applicants who can speak English, financially 40 00:01:56,416 --> 00:01:59,556 support themselves and their families, and 41 00:01:59,552 --> 00:02:05,022 demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy. 42 00:02:05,024 --> 00:02:07,294 The RAISE Act prevents new migrants and new 43 00:02:07,293 --> 00:02:11,233 immigrants from collecting welfare, and protects U.S. 44 00:02:11,231 --> 00:02:14,531 workers from being displaced. 45 00:02:14,534 --> 00:02:15,734 And that's a very big thing. 46 00:02:15,735 --> 00:02:18,335 They're not going to come in and just immediately go 47 00:02:18,338 --> 00:02:19,438 and collect welfare. 48 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:21,709 That doesn't happen under the RAISE Act. 49 00:02:21,708 --> 00:02:23,848 They can't do that. 50 00:02:23,843 --> 00:02:26,983 Crucially, the Green Card reforms in the RAISE Act 51 00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:30,480 will give American workers a pay raise by reducing 52 00:02:30,483 --> 00:02:32,083 unskilled immigration. 53 00:02:32,085 --> 00:02:34,925 This legislation will not only restore our 54 00:02:34,921 --> 00:02:38,021 competitive edge in the 21st century, but it will 55 00:02:38,024 --> 00:02:41,224 restore the sacred bonds of trust between America 56 00:02:41,227 --> 00:02:42,727 and its citizens. 57 00:02:42,729 --> 00:02:45,069 This legislation demonstrates our 58 00:02:45,064 --> 00:02:48,304 compassion for struggling American families who 59 00:02:48,301 --> 00:02:52,401 deserve an immigration system that puts their 60 00:02:52,405 --> 00:02:56,275 needs first and that puts America first. 61 00:02:56,276 --> 00:02:59,676 Finally, the reforms in the RAISE Act will help 62 00:02:59,679 --> 00:03:02,919 ensure that newcomers to our wonderful country will 63 00:03:02,916 --> 00:03:07,486 be assimilated, will succeed, and will achieve 64 00:03:07,487 --> 00:03:09,587 the American Dream. 65 00:03:09,589 --> 00:03:12,729 I'd like now to invite Senator Cotton and Senator 66 00:03:12,725 --> 00:03:14,195 Perdue to say a few words. 67 00:03:14,193 --> 00:03:14,863 Thank you. 68 00:03:14,861 --> 00:03:15,531 Thank you very much. 69 00:03:15,528 --> 00:03:19,098 Senator Cotton: Thank you, Mr. President. 70 00:03:19,098 --> 00:03:21,538 I'm very excited to be here with Senator Perdue 71 00:03:21,534 --> 00:03:23,504 and President Trump to be introducing the new 72 00:03:23,503 --> 00:03:25,303 version of the RAISE Act. 73 00:03:25,305 --> 00:03:27,845 Our legal immigration system should accomplish 74 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,210 two main goals: One, it should help American 75 00:03:30,209 --> 00:03:33,309 workers get a decent pay raise and have a higher 76 00:03:33,313 --> 00:03:34,013 standard of living. 77 00:03:34,013 --> 00:03:36,353 And, two, it should help promote economic growth to 78 00:03:36,349 --> 00:03:38,589 make America more competitive in the world. 79 00:03:38,585 --> 00:03:41,225 Our current system simply doesn't do that. 80 00:03:41,220 --> 00:03:43,760 It's over a half-century old. 81 00:03:43,756 --> 00:03:46,356 It is an obsolete disaster. 82 00:03:46,359 --> 00:03:48,599 And it's time for it to change. 83 00:03:48,595 --> 00:03:51,835 So, first, we bring over a million immigrants into 84 00:03:51,831 --> 00:03:53,471 this country a year. 85 00:03:53,466 --> 00:03:55,966 That's like adding the population of Montana 86 00:03:55,969 --> 00:03:58,969 every single year; adding the population of Arkansas 87 00:03:58,972 --> 00:04:01,312 every three years. 88 00:04:01,307 --> 00:04:03,607 The vast majority of those workers -- or those 89 00:04:03,610 --> 00:04:05,750 immigrants come here not because of their 90 00:04:05,745 --> 00:04:08,245 English-language abilities or their job skills, or 91 00:04:08,247 --> 00:04:11,787 their job offer, or their educational attainment. 92 00:04:11,784 --> 00:04:14,724 In fact, only 1 in 15 -- only 1 in 15 out of a 93 00:04:14,721 --> 00:04:17,461 million new immigrants come here because of their 94 00:04:17,457 --> 00:04:18,657 job skills and their ability to 95 00:04:18,658 --> 00:04:20,958 succeed in this economy. 96 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,930 That means it puts great downward pressure on 97 00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:27,770 people who work with their hands and work on their feet. 98 00:04:27,767 --> 00:04:29,837 Now, for some people, they may think that that's a 99 00:04:29,836 --> 00:04:32,976 symbol of America's virtue and generosity. 100 00:04:32,972 --> 00:04:35,442 I think it's a symbol that we're not committed to 101 00:04:35,441 --> 00:04:36,841 working-class Americans. 102 00:04:36,843 --> 00:04:39,783 And we need to change that. 103 00:04:39,779 --> 00:04:44,689 Second, we also lose out on the very best talent 104 00:04:44,684 --> 00:04:46,984 coming to our country -- the most ultra, 105 00:04:46,986 --> 00:04:49,456 high-skilled immigrants who can come here and 106 00:04:49,455 --> 00:04:51,195 bring their entrepreneurial spirit and 107 00:04:51,190 --> 00:04:53,830 their innovative capabilities, and make a 108 00:04:53,826 --> 00:04:56,696 higher wage, create new jobs for other Americans 109 00:04:56,696 --> 00:05:00,696 and new immigrants, speak English, and contribute to 110 00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:03,440 our economy, and stand on their own two feet, and 111 00:05:03,436 --> 00:05:07,076 pay taxes, and not receive welfare, and not drive 112 00:05:07,073 --> 00:05:09,613 down wages for working-class Americans. 113 00:05:09,609 --> 00:05:12,109 The RAISE Act will change all of that by 114 00:05:12,111 --> 00:05:15,981 re-orienting our Green Card system towards people 115 00:05:15,982 --> 00:05:18,882 who can speak English, who have high degrees of 116 00:05:18,885 --> 00:05:21,585 educational attainment, who have a job offer that 117 00:05:21,587 --> 00:05:23,987 pays more, and a typical job in their local 118 00:05:23,990 --> 00:05:26,030 economy, who are going to create a new business, and 119 00:05:26,025 --> 00:05:29,825 who are outstanding in their field around the world. 120 00:05:29,829 --> 00:05:31,729 And I'm excited, and I look forward to working 121 00:05:31,731 --> 00:05:34,231 with Senator Perdue and President Trump to pass 122 00:05:34,233 --> 00:05:37,403 this legislation through the Congress and make this 123 00:05:37,403 --> 00:05:42,913 kind of very fundamental, sweeping change for the 124 00:05:42,909 --> 00:05:46,079 first time in over 50 years to our 125 00:05:46,079 --> 00:05:47,719 immigration system. 126 00:05:47,714 --> 00:05:48,414 Thank you. 127 00:05:48,414 --> 00:05:51,114 Senator Purdue: Thank you, Tom. 128 00:05:51,117 --> 00:05:52,387 Thank you, Mr. President. 129 00:05:52,385 --> 00:05:53,885 Good afternoon, everyone. 130 00:05:53,886 --> 00:05:55,386 First of all, Mr. President, I want to 131 00:05:55,388 --> 00:05:57,358 thank you for your leadership on this 132 00:05:57,356 --> 00:05:58,196 immigration topic. 133 00:05:58,191 --> 00:06:00,561 I think this is extremely critical for our country. 134 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,100 You talked about it often on the campaign trail. 135 00:06:03,096 --> 00:06:05,436 You said job one was growing the economy. 136 00:06:05,431 --> 00:06:06,831 That is part of why I believe you're standing 137 00:06:06,833 --> 00:06:08,703 here and why I'm standing here. 138 00:06:08,701 --> 00:06:12,401 You've also said that -- as a Fortune 500 CEO -- 139 00:06:12,405 --> 00:06:14,545 I'm the only Fortune 500 CEO in Congress, and I've 140 00:06:14,540 --> 00:06:16,840 lived around the world much of my career. 141 00:06:16,843 --> 00:06:18,173 And I can tell you, nothing that we're going 142 00:06:18,177 --> 00:06:20,247 to do right now is more important than this in 143 00:06:20,246 --> 00:06:21,886 terms of growing our economy. 144 00:06:21,881 --> 00:06:23,551 The reason we need to do this is very simple: Our 145 00:06:23,549 --> 00:06:25,089 current system does not work. 146 00:06:25,084 --> 00:06:27,084 It keeps America from being competitive, and it 147 00:06:27,086 --> 00:06:29,756 does not meet the needs of our economy today. 148 00:06:29,756 --> 00:06:32,956 Today, as Tom said, we bring in 1.1 million legal 149 00:06:32,959 --> 00:06:34,629 immigrants a year. 150 00:06:34,627 --> 00:06:36,727 Over 50 percent of our households of legal 151 00:06:36,729 --> 00:06:38,669 immigrants today participate in our social 152 00:06:38,664 --> 00:06:39,804 welfare system. 153 00:06:39,799 --> 00:06:42,239 Right now, only one 1 out of 15 immigrants who come 154 00:06:42,235 --> 00:06:43,805 into our country come in with skills 155 00:06:43,803 --> 00:06:45,143 that are employable. 156 00:06:45,138 --> 00:06:46,808 We've got to change that. 157 00:06:46,806 --> 00:06:49,076 As business guys, Mr. President, you and I 158 00:06:49,075 --> 00:06:51,375 understand we need we need a new approach: We need to 159 00:06:51,377 --> 00:06:53,117 fix this immigration system. 160 00:06:53,112 --> 00:06:54,752 So we took a look at best practices. 161 00:06:54,747 --> 00:06:57,117 We looked at countries like Canada, Australia, 162 00:06:57,116 --> 00:06:58,316 and others. 163 00:06:58,317 --> 00:07:00,117 What we're introducing today is modeled on the 164 00:07:00,119 --> 00:07:02,289 current Canadian and Australian systems. 165 00:07:02,288 --> 00:07:04,528 It's pro-worker, it's pro-growth, and it's been 166 00:07:04,524 --> 00:07:06,094 proven to work. 167 00:07:06,092 --> 00:07:08,392 Both have been extremely successful in attracting 168 00:07:08,394 --> 00:07:10,764 highly skilled workers to those countries. 169 00:07:10,763 --> 00:07:12,333 We can all agree the goals of our nation's 170 00:07:12,331 --> 00:07:14,031 immigration system should be to protect the 171 00:07:14,033 --> 00:07:15,633 interests of working Americans, including 172 00:07:15,635 --> 00:07:18,305 immigrants, and to welcome talented individuals who 173 00:07:18,304 --> 00:07:20,944 come here legally and want to work and make a better 174 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:22,210 life for themselves. 175 00:07:22,208 --> 00:07:24,308 Our current system makes it virtually impossible 176 00:07:24,310 --> 00:07:25,040 for them to do that. 177 00:07:25,044 --> 00:07:27,544 If we're going to continue as the innovator in the 178 00:07:27,547 --> 00:07:29,987 world and the leader economically, it's 179 00:07:29,982 --> 00:07:31,952 imperative that our immigration system focus 180 00:07:31,951 --> 00:07:34,551 on highly skilled, permanent workers who can 181 00:07:34,554 --> 00:07:36,754 add value to our economy and ultimately achieve 182 00:07:36,756 --> 00:07:39,526 their own version of the American Dream. 183 00:07:39,525 --> 00:07:41,425 What we're talking about today is very simple: It's 184 00:07:41,427 --> 00:07:43,967 measured, it's a rational approach to immigration 185 00:07:43,963 --> 00:07:46,103 that will allow us to finally fix once and for 186 00:07:46,098 --> 00:07:49,698 all this broken system in a strategic way that will 187 00:07:49,702 --> 00:07:51,272 reposition America as a global 188 00:07:51,270 --> 00:07:52,710 leader economically. 189 00:07:52,705 --> 00:07:54,705 Mr. President, I am proud to stand here with you and 190 00:07:54,707 --> 00:07:55,377 Tom Cotton. 191 00:07:55,374 --> 00:07:56,974 I look forward to passing this in U.S. 192 00:07:56,976 --> 00:07:59,076 Congress and making this a law of the land, and 193 00:07:59,078 --> 00:08:01,948 letting it be a sweeping change for America. 194 00:08:01,948 --> 00:08:02,618 Thank you. 195 00:08:02,615 --> 00:08:08,785 The President: I just want to state that, as you 196 00:08:08,788 --> 00:08:11,888 probably have noticed, the stock market hit an 197 00:08:11,891 --> 00:08:15,531 all-time record high today -- over 22,000. 198 00:08:15,528 --> 00:08:17,898 We've picked up, substantially now, more 199 00:08:17,897 --> 00:08:21,597 than $4 trillion in net worth in terms of our 200 00:08:21,601 --> 00:08:24,801 country, our stocks, our companies. 201 00:08:24,804 --> 00:08:28,804 We have a growth rate -- a GDP -- which has been much 202 00:08:28,808 --> 00:08:32,178 higher than, as you know, anybody anticipated, 203 00:08:32,178 --> 00:08:33,148 except maybe us. 204 00:08:33,145 --> 00:08:34,315 But it's going to go up. 205 00:08:34,313 --> 00:08:36,353 It's going to go higher, too. 206 00:08:36,349 --> 00:08:38,219 We're doing a job. 207 00:08:38,217 --> 00:08:40,557 And you're going to see jobs are pouring back 208 00:08:40,553 --> 00:08:41,383 into the country. 209 00:08:41,387 --> 00:08:44,587 The factories and plants are coming back 210 00:08:44,590 --> 00:08:45,320 into the country. 211 00:08:45,324 --> 00:08:46,864 We're going to start making product 212 00:08:46,859 --> 00:08:48,299 in America again. 213 00:08:48,294 --> 00:08:50,164 And that's happening all over. 214 00:08:50,162 --> 00:08:53,102 As I mentioned yesterday, Foxconn is going to spend 215 00:08:53,099 --> 00:08:56,869 $10 billion in Wisconsin and other places. 216 00:08:56,869 --> 00:08:58,969 And I think the $10 billion is going to end up 217 00:08:58,971 --> 00:08:59,941 being $30 billion. 218 00:08:59,939 --> 00:09:04,579 They make the iPhones for Apple and others, 219 00:09:04,577 --> 00:09:07,517 and it is a truly incredible company. 220 00:09:07,513 --> 00:09:09,513 So we have a lot of things happening that 221 00:09:09,515 --> 00:09:10,215 are really great. 222 00:09:10,216 --> 00:09:14,216 But again, today the stock market hit the highest 223 00:09:14,220 --> 00:09:18,990 level that it has ever been, and our country is 224 00:09:18,991 --> 00:09:19,661 doing very well. 225 00:09:19,659 --> 00:09:21,299 I just want to thank you all. 226 00:09:21,294 --> 00:09:23,764 Tom and David are going to be outside. 227 00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:26,503 They're going to speak to you at length about what 228 00:09:26,499 --> 00:09:28,769 we're going to do with respect to this 229 00:09:28,768 --> 00:09:30,198 aspect of immigration. 230 00:09:30,202 --> 00:09:33,402 I think it's going to be very, very important -- 231 00:09:33,406 --> 00:09:34,336 the biggest in 50 years -- 232 00:09:34,340 --> 00:09:35,880 biggest change in 50 years. 233 00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:40,885 Thank you all very much.