Trump, senators unveil bill to slash legal immigration to US

US President Donald Trump and two Republican senators on Wednesday unveiled a plan at the White House to half the number of legal immigrants to the United States eventually and favour newcomers who speak English.

Trump threw his support behind a bill developed by senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia that they say would cut legal immigration by 50 per cent over 10 years by reducing the kinds of relatives immigrants can bring into the country. The legislation faces an uphill climb to get through Congress.

"This competitive application process will favour applicants who can speak English, financially support themselves and their families and demonstrate skills that will contribute to our economy," Trump said.

Trump and the Republican lawmakers blasted the current immigration system as out of date and argued that it hurts American workers by driving down wages.

"The reforms... will help ensure that newcomers to our wonderful country will be assimilated, will succeed and will achieve the American dream," Trump said.

Under the new bill, the United States would prioritise high-skilled immigrants by setting up a merits-based system similar to those used by Canada and Australia.
READ MORE

US lawmaker pitches for the removal of country specific quota in Green Card

A top American lawmaker has demanded the removal of country-specific quota for legal permanent residency in the US, arguing that over seven lakh high-skilled immigrant workers from India are stuck on a cycle of temporary work visas due to the "arbitrary" cap on Green Cards.

"More than 700,000 high-skilled immigrant workers from India are in the US today on temporary work visas. These people are working hard every day helping grow our economy, raising their children as Americans right here in our communities," Congressman Kevin Yoder from Kansas said in his remarks on the floor of the US House of Representatives.

"But under our immigration system they are stuck on a cycle of temporary work visas, unable to change jobs or even start their own small business to create more American jobs. They're stuck because of the arbitrary seven per nation cap on employment-based green cards," the Republican lawmaker said.

"Right now, there's a mother in Greenland whose unborn child will be able to obtain permanent residence in America before someone from India who is already here and have been working here for years. That's absurd and it's wrong," he said.
READ MORE

Virginia shooting: Congressman Steve Scalise 'critical' post second surgery

Senior Congressman Steve Scalise condition was upgraded to "serious" after he underwent a second surgery on Saturday after he was injured in a shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice earlier this week.

"Scalise continues to show signs of improvement. He is more responsive, and is speaking with his loved ones. The Scalise family greatly appreciates the outpouring of thoughts and prayers," MedStar Washington Hospital Center said in a statement released on behalf of his kin, reports CNN.

Scalise was struck in the left hip by the gunman and collapsed on the field, according to witnesses, who also said that Scalise dragged himself from the infield as the shooting continued.

The senior Republican suffered extensive injuries and was in critical condition on Wednesday night.

The bullet struck Scalise in the hip, and travelled across his body, shattering bones and passing through internal organs, causing major internal bleeding. Doctors immediately performed surgery, but additional operations will be required, the hospital said in the late-night statement.

The gunman, identified by authorities as James Hodgkinson, died of wounds he sustained during a shootout with police.

READ MORE

Donald Trump wishes ex-FBI chief Comey 'luck' ahead of testimony

US President Donald Trump wished his ousted FBI director, James Comey, "luck" ahead of what promises to be a dramatic testimony to Congress on Thursday that could spell more bad news for the White House.

Meeting Republican leaders in the Roosevelt Room, Trump was asked whether he had a message for Comey, whom he summarily dismissed last month in the middle of an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the US election last year, and the possible collusion of Trump campaign aides.

"I wish him luck" Trump said.

The expelled FBI director will appear on Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee for a hearing sure to be replete with political drama and intrigue.

Comey's testimony will be his first public remarks since he was summarily fired by Trump in early May, and represents a moment of great peril for this already embattled president.

He will face a barrage of questions from lawmakers about the circumstances of his firing, as well as suggestions that Trump tried to get Comey to shelve the investigation.

Most major US television networks plan to carry the event live. Some bars in the US capital are even planning to open early for viewing parties.
READ MORE

How Donald Trump could be removed from office under the US Constitution

As Washington becomes increasingly engulfed by the spiralling crises in Donald Trump’s presidency, and even prominent Republicans compare it to the dark days of Watergate, even Republican voices have been asking how Donald Trump might be replaced.

Six decades ago, Dwight Eisenhower’s various illnesses stimulated a serious debate in the Congress over this question, but it was not until the 1963 assassination of his successor John F. Kennedy that Congress approved the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution, which provided a set of procedures for replacing a president in the event of death, removal (permanently or temporarily), resignation, or incapacity.

This plugged a significant constitutional gap. Although Article II, section one of the US Constitution discusses the issue of presidential succession, it did not spell out how a vice-president would assume the presidency if an incumbent died, resigned or was unable to perform the office’s duty. When Kennedy died, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, had known health issues; the next two people in line for the presidency were 71-year-old House speaker, John McCormack, and the 86-year-old Senate president pro tempore, Carl Hayden.

Ultimately ratified by a majority of the states in 1967, the 25th Amendment’s procedures were first invoked in 1973, when Richard Nixon’s vice-president, Spiro Agnew, resigned after pleading no contest to a charge of federal income tax evasion in exchange for the dropping of political corruption charges. The amendment was triggered again less than a year later during the Watergate affair, after the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives approved articles of impeachment against Nixon for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress.

Nixon resigned, and his new vice-president, Gerald Ford, was sworn in as the 38th president under section one of the amendment; for his new vice-president he nominated Nelson Rockefeller, whom both congressional chambers confirmed by simple majorities. Thus the nation’s two highest offices were filled without a popular vote.
READ MORE