Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted in the following publications about President Trump’s false claims regarding chain migration and the diversity visa program:

  • Rebutting President Trump’s false claim that “a single immigrant can bring in unlimited numbers of distant relatives,” Mr. Yale-Loehr noted, “As a practical matter, because of these long backlogs there is not as much chain migration as President Trump claims.”
  • Responding to President Trump’s false claim that countries send their “worst people” under the diversity visa program, Mr. Yale-Loehr cited a 2011 Congressional Research Service report, noting that “a higher percentage of immigrants who entered the United States through the diversity visa program had managerial and professional occupations than green card holders overall.”
  • With respect to “chain migration,” Mr. Yale-Loehr noted, “Chain migration is President Trump’s derogatory way of labeling family reunification immigration.” He also said, “President Trump is wrong to claim that distant relatives can easily and quickly immigrate to the United States,” pointing out that U.S. citizens can only petition for close relatives like siblings, children, and parents—not aunts, uncles, or other, more distant relatives. Mr. Yale-Loehr noted that even under the current system, for a U.S. citizen to try to bring a relative to the country is no small feat and takes a long time: “If I am a U.S. citizen and petition for my brother, the wait would be almost 14 years for most countries. And if my brother is from the Philippines, the wait would be over 23 years.”