A Republican congressman stirred a row after calling for an end to all US visa programmes and the repeal of the landmark 1965 Hart-Celler Act. The Act replaced nationality-based immigration quotas with a system focused on family reunification, skills and refugee admissions.Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee claimed that the country should return to a strict national quota system for immigration.Ogles made the comments during an interview with MAGA commentator Benny Johnson, where he said lawmakers were working on legislation to shut down the H-1B visa programme and halt all visas and rebuild the system. He claimed the current visa system had opened the door to mass immigration from third-world countries that the United States could no longer sustain. “We are working diligently to try and get legislation passed to end H-1B visas, and quite frankly, stop all visas and redo the visa program,” Ogles said. He added: “Before the Hart-Celler Act in 1965, there was a quota system. If you wanted to come here, you had to be from a compatible country.”The Hart-Celler Act abolished national origin quotas that had heavily favoured European immigrants and reshaped US immigration patterns over the past 60 years. Census data shows the share of European immigrants has fallen since its passage, while immigration from Asia, Africa and Latin America has increased. Ogles said the the law had “opened up the floodgates.” He claimed that around 60 million people had entered the country through the post-1965 system. “90% are from third-world countries,” he said. “They bring nothing to our nation except a drain on our resources.”Ogles also criticised the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US under former President Joe Biden, claiming many were unemployed and reliant on public assistance and subsidies provided in America. “Stop. No more,” he said.When asked directly whether Congress should scrap the Hart-Celler Act, Ogles replied: “Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. We need to go back to a quota system.”He said immigration is meant for economic needs and must prioritise American workers.
