The merit-based immigration proposal backed by the President would be damaging to South Carolina’s two strongest industries, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who came out against the plan just hours after the President made it public.
The RAISE Act, which was announced Tuesday by the President and Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) would favor green card applicants who demonstrate skills, education and language ability over relations to people already here. It also seeks to cut legal immigration in half over the next decade.
Graham said that move would be “devastating” to his state’s agriculture and tourism industries, where jobs are often filled by immigrants.
“South Carolina’s number one industry is agriculture and tourism is number two. If this proposal were to become law, it would be devastating to our state’s economy which relies on this immigrant workforce,” he said in a statement. “South Carolina’s agriculture and tourism industry advertise for American workers and want to fill open positions with American workers. Unfortunately, many of these advertised positions go unfilled. Hotels, restaurants, golf courses and farmers will tell you this proposal – to cut legal immigration in half — would put their business in peril.”
He said the measure “incentivizes” illegal immigration, which would hurt his state’s economy.
“After dealing with this issue for more than a decade, I know that when you restrict legal labor to employers it incentivizes cheating,” he said.
Other Republicans have expressed concerns about the bill as well, with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) saying he would like to see manufacturing and agriculture be considered skills that allow admittance under this plan because “not one dairy plants” in his state can “hire enough people to work.”
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) made similar comments, telling the Washington Examiner his state has “work force needs” that often have to be filled by “immigrants labor supply.”
