(Mike Theiler/Reuters)A White House proposal would slash legal immigration rates by 44 percent this year and result in 22 million fewer immigrants over the next five decades when compared to current law, according to a Cato Institute study released Monday. In all, about 1.1 million foreigners are on pace to receive green cards this year authorizing legal permanent residence in the United States. “Restricting legal immigration will unnecessarily deny opportunity to many people and have far-reaching negative consequences for economic growth in the United States,” the authors wrote. [Trump supports path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million ‘dreamers’ in new White House proposal]Democrats have fiercely opposed the cuts to legal immigration. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute has estimated that Trump's proposal would cut the number of green cards by at least 288,000.

Source: Washington Post January 29, 2018 21:45 UTC