Trump on visa lottery system: ‘They’re picking the worst of the worst’

President Trump called on Friday for Congress to scrap the U.S. visa lottery system, suggesting that immigration officials are “picking the worst of the worst” out of a bin for entrance into the U.S. 

“You think the countries are giving us their best people? No. What kind of a system is that?” Trump said at a press conference. “They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin, but in his hand when he’s picking them is really the worst of the worst.” 

Pres. Trump criticizes immigration visa lottery program: “They give us their worst people, they put them in a bin, but in his hand when he’s picking them is really the worst of the worst…What a system.” pic.twitter.com/gNvYIpnfwK

— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) December 15, 2017

“What a system,” Trump added. 

{mosads}

The visa lottery system created by Congress favors the entrance of immigrants from countries that have not sent many immigrants to the U.S., in an attempt to diversify the process.

To accomplish that, 55,000 visas are granted to randomly chosen individuals, according to the American Immigration Council (AIC).

The Trump administration has targeted the system for its admittance of thousands of refugees from nations that are state sponsors of terrorism. 

Trump renewed his calls this week for an end to the lottery and of “chain migration,” a system that gives preference to immigrants with family connections already in the U.S., following an attempted suicide bombing in New York City on Monday. 

Akayed Ullah, who failed to kill himself with a homemade device in a New York subway, entered the U.S. in 2011 from Bangladesh and obtained a green card by being sponsored by a family member who is a U.S. citizen. 

“We’re calling for Congress to end chain migration and to end the visa lottery system and replace it with a merit-based system of immigration,” Trump said.