Press releases

“We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. The laws surrounding immigration need to look like someone designed them on purpose.” – Sen. Kennedy


WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would end the diversity visa lottery program. The diversity visa lottery program currently gives out 50,000 visas every year. Unlike other visas, these are not given out based on employment, or family, or need, but instead, are given out through a randomly selected lottery program.

Click here to watch Sen. Kennedy’s full statement:

Common-Sense Issue: “If you tried to design a more irrational immigration program than the diversity visa lottery program, you couldn’t do it. It’s stupid. It’s nonsense on a stick. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. The laws surrounding immigration need
to look like someone designed them on purpose. The diversity visa lottery program is not one of
those laws.”


Merit-Based System: “We need to have an immigration program that is at the very least merit-based
in part. We should be asking immigrants: ‘Why do you want to come to the United
States?’ ‘How likely are you to assimilate?’ ‘What are your job skills?’ ‘What are your
educational attainments?’ and ‘How are you going to help move this economy forward?’”


National Security Issue: “The diversity visa lottery system is how the monster from Uzbekistan
made it into the United States. The terrorist who drove a rented pickup truck down a bike path in
New York City and killed eight people. You shouldn’t be picked to come to the United States
based on the merit of luck.”


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