Home > Journals > St. John's Law Review > Vol. 94 > No. 3
Document Type
Note
Abstract
(Excerpt)
United States immigration policy has historically been a strategy for national growth. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 to stimulate further growth by increasing immigration opportunities. This substantial immigration reform created the Diversity Visa (“DV”) lottery program, which administers 50,000 lawful permanent residence visas annually. These visas are drawn randomly from a pool of applicants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Donald J. Trump pushed for major immigration reform beginning on his first day in office, including the repeal of the DV program and the development of a points-based system modeling the current policy in Canada. While President Trump stressed the economic benefits that the point system could bring, the DV program has always contributed much more. The program brings more diversity to the United States; more diversity builds a stronger economy and further advances traditional American ideology.