U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Thursday introduced the American System for Sustainable Immigration and Mass Immigration Limitations Achieved Through Imposing Oversight Nationally (ASSIMILATION) Act, an 82-page bill that would result in a comprehensive revision of the process for legal immigration to the United States.
Announcing his legislation in a post to social media, Ogles said he and Tuberville aimed to gut the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, which critics say incentivized immigration from non-European countries, as well as various provisions of the Immigration Act that became law during the 1990s.
“The goal of this bill is simple: end replacement migration and ensure American cultural cohesion,” Ogles wrote. “This bill will end the H-1B scam, ensure migrants NEVER become a public charge, and make America look like America again.”
Ogles added, “FYI, net immigration immediately decreases by 85% under this bill.”
In Title I of the legislation, Ogles and Tuberville officially lay blame on the 1965 legislation for directly causing chain migration, the suppression of American wages, strained public resources, and slow rates of assimilation.
Excited to announce that my 83-page ASSIMILATION Act has been introduced.
Months of labor were undertaken by my staff, @SenTuberville and myself in order to GUT the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, as well as scrap provisions of the Immigration Act of the 1990s.
The goal of this bill… pic.twitter.com/Kq5CvB1MIe
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) May 14, 2026
After laying the groundwork, the legislation proposes upending the preference system established during last century and replacing it with a National Interest Standard. This would require immigrants to provide objective evidence that their presence in the country would affirmatively advance American economic prosperity, cultural cohesion, and national security in order to be admitted entry, granted a visa, or granted another form of legal residency.
Title II of the legislation would deal a killing blow to the family-sponsored immigration tracks critics say have led to chain migration by only allowing immigrants to sponsor their spouse and minor children rather than extended family members.
Virtually all other forms of family-based immigration sponsorship would be prohibited, with even parents of citizens limited to obtaining a special visa that includes no work authorization or access to public benefits.
This portion of the legislation would also eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery, congressionally cap the number of employment-based visas at 140,000, including just 50,000 controversial H-1B visas. Employers hiring foreigners using the H-1B program would also need to pay at least 200 percent of the median income for the area and occupation, in a move likely aimed at countering complaints of corporations using the program to replace Americans with cheaper foreign labor.
In addition to the hard cap on foreign workers, and dramatic rewriting of the H-1B program, the legislation by Ogles and Tuberville would entirely scrap the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program that allows foreign college students to remain in the country and work after graduation.
Title III establishes new requirements for immigrants seeking entry to the United States, requiring means-testing, and establishing new requirements for those sponsoring immigrants, and requiring to provide proof of an annual income that is at least 200 percent of the poverty line.
This is also the section of the legislation that would establish mandatory nationwide E-Verify for all employers, and restricts prosecutorial discretion for the parole of illegal aliens into the interior of the country.
In the fourth section of the bill, new character requirements are imposed on prospective immigrants, expanding the types of criminal history and use of public benefits that can preclude access to the United States. It also requires naturalization of legal immigrants to require 10 years of continuous legal residence, and imposes new English proficiency requirements for citizenship.
Perhaps the most controversial portion of the legislation, this part of the ASSIMILATION Act would also significantly change birthright citizenship, with only the children of legal residents or American citizens granted citizenship at birth.
Asylum laws would be significantly changed in Title V of the legislation, which includes tougher standards to establish refugee status, expands existing safe-third-country requirements, and places limits on work authorization.
Previewing his legislation in Congress earlier this week, Ogles said the legislation would modernize the nation’s immigration laws.
“The purpose of our immigration system should be to benefit hard-working American taxpayers,” said Ogles. “Mass immigration is a leech that is slowly bleeding this country dry, and politicians and the people across our country better open their eyes.”
Ogles first said he planned to file an immigration bill in March, around the time he argued that Islam is incompatible with the United States, and for its adherents to be deported.
The congressman later modified his position during an appearance on Michael Patrick Leahy Investigates, when he said the proposal was prompted by his desire to advance the national immigration debate after a series of high profile cases involving Muslim defendants, including the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charges against two men who allegedly swore fealty to the Islamic State during a plan to bomb Gracie Mansion in New York.
“There’s roughly 3,000 mosques in the United States of America, and as of this morning, we wanna know how many have condemned the violence. I’m guessing zero… Not a single one,” Ogles said. “The Muslim community has an opportunity to rise up and to take a stand and say, we will not tolerate this type of violence in our communities and we’re not gonna allow it here in the United States of America.”
He later added, “All I’m saying is we’ve got to have this conversation. We have to vet who’s coming here, and if you lied on your naturalization form, we can, by the way, denaturalize you and we can deport you.”
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Rep Andy Ogles” by Rep. Andy Ogles.
