Fact-Checking Trump's Claim: Immigrants Can Piggy-Back "Unlimited" And "Distant" Relatives

Can immigrants bring in 'unlimited' and 'distant' relatives?

"Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security, and for the future of America," Trump said in his first State Of The Union Address.

This is false. Legal immigrants can sponsor their spouses, children, parents, and siblings — but distant relatives, like cousins, cannot be sponsored for residency. The family reunification visa process takes years or even more than a decade, preventing "chains" from forming the way Trump suggests, as Politico reported in detail.

What's more, there are only so many family visas that can be granted. The numbers are capped by the U.S. government.

2018 State of the Union Fact-Check - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/30/us/politics/fact-check-sotu.html

8 hours ago - Reporters from The New York Times checked the facts, falsehoods and statements in need of context from President Trump's first State of the Union .... Some siblings of immigrants who in 2004 petitioned for a visa to come to the United States were just this month starting to have their claimsprocessed.

Trump booed over chain migration comments at State of the Union ...

https://nypost.com/.../trump-booed-over-chain-migration-comments-at-state-of-the-un...

10 hours ago - “The fourth and final pillar protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration — under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives,” Trump claimed. “Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and ...

Trump's State of the Union Was All About Immigration Reform - The ...

https://www.theatlantic.com/.../01/trump...immigration...state-of-the-union/551936/

2 hours ago - Perhaps the most dramatic moment of Trump's speech came when he pledged to “protect the nuclear family” by ending chain migration. “In recent weeks, two terrorist attacks in New York were made possible by … chain migration,” he said. Democrats erupted in a cacophony of boos and hisses; House ...

Trump says chain migration allows 'virtually unlimited numbers of ...

https://www.latimes.com/.../la-na-pol-essential-washington-updates-hold-trump-on-ch...

10 hours ago - In calling for an end to chain migration as one of four pillars of his immigration plan, President Trump said in his State of the Union address the current system allows a single immigrant to ... Trump said his plan would “focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children.”.

Chain Migration, Border Walls and the Visa Lottery System: Fact ...

www.newsweek.com/immigration-trump-state-union-795770

10 hours ago - President Donald Trump outlined the four pillars of his immigration plan during Tuesday night's State of the Union, but many of his statements were exaggerated or incorrect. “In recent months, my administration has met extensively with both Democrats and Republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to ...

Trump outlines immigration plan in State of the Union | Miami Herald

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article197535729.html

8 hours ago - President Donald Trump endorsed a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumentedimmigrants in his first State of the Union address. But his ... Fact-checkers, however, took issue with how Trump characterized the visa lottery and family immigration programs, which he dubbed “chain migration.” Trump ...

Dems boo Trump's 'chain migration' remarks - CNN Video - CNN.com

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https://www.cnn.com/.../trump-state-of-the-union-sot-democrats-chai...

9 hours ago

President Donald Trump addresses his concern with family-based or "chain"migration during his first ...

Donald Trump booed in his first State of the Union after hitting out at ...

www.independent.co.uk › News › World › Americas › US politics

9 hours ago - President Donald Trump faced boos from Democrats during his first State of the Unionaddress, after criticising "chain migration" – a practice in which family members come to joinimmigrants who have settled in America. Mr Trump has long bemoaned the practice as a means for terrorists and "truly evil ...