US Representative Chip Roy introduced the PAUSE Act, backed by conservative groups, to halt nearly all US immigration except for tourist visas. The bill calls for ending OPT, revising H-1B rules by stopping status adjustments, and freezing admissions until security conditions are met.
Chip Roy’s PAUSE Act, seeks to freeze all immigration and calls for a revision of the H-1B program, as well as the complete termination of the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.
The PAUSE Act proposes ending the H-1B visa program’s ‘adjustment of status’ and altogether terminating the OPT program. Essentially, the PAUSE Act aims to freeze all immigration to the US until certain conditions are met, including an end to OPT and modifications to H-1B rules.
“Our nation’s foreign-born population has reached 51.9 million people, comprising 16% of our population. Highest levels of percentage in our history… I have introduced legislation called the PAUSE Act to pause immigration, and pause it until we get our hands around all of the problems that are currently plaguing our immigration system.
We continue to allow a broken Visa system to have extended family members be brought into the United States expansively and purposely. The H-1B program has been exploited for years and must be abolished or massively reformed,” said Chip Roy.
PAUSE Act
The foreign-born population in the US has reached 51.9 million, comprising over 16% of the total population, a near record high. The U.S. admits more immigrants than all other countries combined.
Rep. Roy on the PAUSE Act: The problem isn’t just illegal immigration; it’s also legal immigration. While the Biden administration opened our borders and allowed millions to flood into our country, they also rubber-stamped millions more arriving through convoluted legal schemes, completely overwhelming the system.
Young Americans are struggling to find jobs after college, while a lion’s share of H-1B visas are being awarded for entry-level positions. American families are being gouged by insurance companies, while foreigners are receiving taxpayer-funded healthcare. The prospects of marriage, parenthood, and homeownership are becoming increasingly distant for Americans, all while foreign nationals are bringing multiple generations of families through chain migration.
Every day, Americans are working to advance their careers through merit, while our immigration system uses a lottery that doesn’t bring the best, but the luckiest. We must put a pause on immigration until we fundamentally fix our broken system.
PAUSE Act Conditions
The “PAUSE Act” would freeze nearly all legal immigration admissions until the following conditions are codified into law:
There is an end to Plyler v. Doe, allowing states and localities the ability to only allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to access their public schools.
U.S. citizenship is bestowed upon minors only if one parent is a U.S. citizen or a green card holder, ending the practice of automatic birthright citizenship.
Ending chain migration and the Diversity Visa Program, limiting entries to spouses and unmarried minor children, and ending the practice of admitting extended family members instead of nuclear family members or being picked based on mere luck.
Prohibiting the entry of Sharia Law adherents, Chinese Communist Party members, known or suspected terrorists, and members of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Baring noncitizens from accessing means-tested federal programs like SNAP, SSI, TANF, Medicaid, Medicare, WIC, federal student loans, and public housing.
Ending adjustment of status of the H-1B visa and scrapping the unconstitutional OPT program that displaces tech workers by allowing foreign graduates to work instead of returning home.