US President Donald Trump today called for adopting a merit-based immigration system that could benefit high-tech professionals from countries like India, modifying his hard-line campaign rhetoric with a promise to revive the ‘American spirit’.
Trump, during his first address to Congress, noted that such a system will save countless dollars and raise workers’ wages.
Trump introduced the idea of a merit-based immigration system after invoking the memory and words of late president Abraham Lincoln.
In a State of the Union-style address that lasted for an hour, Trump said he believes that real and positive immigration reform is possible as long as it focuses on the goals to improve jobs and wages for Americans to strengthen the country’s security and to restore respect for laws.
Trump during his campaign promised measures like cracking down on undocumented immigrants, restricting travel to the US to stop immigrants entering the country, drawing a sharp reaction from fellow lawmakers and countrymen.
US President is expected to sign a new immigration order today. Citing unnamed US officials, Associated Press reported that the new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary US travel ban.
An earlier executive order temporarily suspending all travel to the US for citizens of seven Muslim majority countries- Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya for 90 days was blocked by federal courts.
On terrorism, Trump said US will work with its allies, including friends in the Muslim World, to extinguish the Islamic State terror group from the planet. He said a beachhead of terrorism cannot be allowed to form inside America and the country cannot be allowed to become a sanctuary for extremists.
The US President also condemned the killing of an Indian Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a shootout in Kansas city last week. In his first address to the US Congress, Trump said America stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.