Sitting in the GOP-led House is legislation that would do nothing else but immediately eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery, the visa program used by the New York City terror suspect to enter the United States in 2010.
Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) introduced the SAFE for America Act to end the Diversity Visa Lottery in March, but not even the House Judiciary Committee has taken the bill up for consideration yet.
The Diversity Visa Lottery gives out 50,000 visas every year to foreign nationals from a multitude of countries, including those with known terrorist problems – such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Yemen, and Uzbekistan.
Under Posey’s legislation, the visa program would be ended with no further changes to the immigration system. But, House and Senate Republicans could attempt to tie an amnesty for illegal aliens to Posey’s legislation, though that plan would likely be opposed by President Trump’s America First voter base.
The co-sponsors for ending the Diversity Visa Lottery include:
- Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Rep. Hensarling (R-TX)
- Rep. Farenthold (R-TX)
- Rep. Duncan (R-TN)
- Rep. Smith (R-TX)
- Rep. Marchant (R-TX)
- Rep. Gosar (R-AZ)
- Rep. Babin (R-TX)
- Rep. Graves (R-GA)
- Rep. Hice (R-GA)
- Rep. Brooks (R-AL)
- Rep. Brat (R-VA)
According to ABC New York, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov — the man who allegedly mowed down pedestrians and killed at least eight individuals in the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City — entered the U.S. in 2010 from Uzbekistan under the Diversity Visa Lottery before obtaining a Green Card.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Sen. David Perdue’s (R-GA) legal immigration-cutting RAISE Act legislation — endorsed by Trump — also seeks to end the Diversity Visa Lottery, as does Trump’s 70-point immigration priorities agenda.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.