Today President Trump announced his support of a "merit-based" immigration system, a system that would cut in half the number of legal immigrants allowed to enter into the United States.
He made the announcement in the White House's Roosevelt Room, flanked by the bill's sponsors Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and David Perdue (R-Georgia).
Cotton and Perdue introduced the RAISE Act in February. It would do away with the current lottery system to get into the country, and would instead implement a point system for earning a green card.
Factors such as English language skills, education, high-paying job offers, and age will all be taken into account.
New immigrants would also be prevented from collecting welfare, an issue Trump has spoken about in recent months:
"That's a very big thing. They're not going to come in and just immediately go and collect welfare."
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and DNC Chair Tom Perez are some of the people speaking out against the idea. Graham tweeted that it would be devastating to the economy and Perez said the bill was not "just an affront to our values, it's also a threat to our economy."
Would a merit-based immigration system really be so bad?