U.S. Senate candidate Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) appeared with Shannon Bream Wednesday evening on “Fox News @ Night” for an interview covering Congress members’ reaction to President Trump’s call for ending the visa lottery system, chain migration, and other policies that inch the United States ever closer to an open-border nation.
Bream opened the interview asking how Congress will “tackle” the issues President Trump mentioned, and if there would be any bipartisanship to do so.
“I would hope so,” Representative Blackburn replied, and the pointed out that the RAISE Act, introduced earlier this year by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton and Georgia Senator David Perdue, is a specific piece of legislation that addresses both of the issues the president identified.
“This is one thing that we know,” she said, wrapping up her opening remarks. “It’s time to move to a merit-based system.”
Blackburn added that, “we are a country that recognizes merit, so let’s move to that.”
Bream used the remarks of Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski to the Miami Herald to challenge Blackburn’s assertion, quoting:
Derisive comments on ‘chain migration’ forget that a foundational principal of our immigration law has long been to help reunite families. But this principle has been seriously eroded in recent years, and administration officials seem to be poised to make it worse.
Blackburn responded that the goal of immigration reform is to “clean the system up.”
“It is time to make certain that we change the way people come here,” she said.
Pivoting from philosophy to reality, Blackburn cited that the last two deadly terror attacks in New York City alone, this year, were a product of the visa lottery program and chain migration.
As for foundational immigration principals, Blackburn noted that a system based on merit is a fairer way to find and welcome the best of those who want to come to the United States.
The Tennessee Star ran a poll asking Tennessee Republican primary voters who they prefer of the three candidates currently vying to replace Senator Bob Corker, who is retiring. Currently, Marsha Blackburn is far ahead the other two hopefuls by an enormous early lead of 47 percentage points.
Watch the full interview here:
