(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) With Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., last month having declared that the pro-election-integrity SAVE Act was now off the legislative agenda entirely, a few “America First” lawmakers were stepping up to fill the gap.
On Friday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., unveiled the Assimilation Act, which would close longstanding immigration loopholes used to undermine democratic institutions — including elections — in a variety of ways.
“We cannot allow people to come here to change our culture, our constitution, our laws,” Tuberville said in an interview with Fox News’s Will Cain.
“… If people come here, they come here to assimilate,” he added. “If they don’t, they go home.”
The bill seeks to ensure that only highly skilled and otherwise qualified immigrants benefit from America’s immigration system, requiring that eligible candidates demonstrate merit and good moral character.
🚨 Support is surging for Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Andy Ogles’ Assimilation Act, and it’s exactly what America needs right now.
This bill would:
• Ban chain migration
• Require merit-based immigration only
• Abolish the diversity visa lottery
• Demand good moral… pic.twitter.com/r3BY8F2WOv
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) May 12, 2026
The bill — formally known as the “American System for Sustainable Immigration and Mass Immigration Limitations Achieved Through Imposing Oversight Nationally” Act — has drawn several Freedom Caucus members in the House as cosponsors, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Eli Crane of Arizona and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
But its path in the Senate remains unclear, with recent data showing that Thune and several other RINO lawmakers may benefit politically from maintaining dirty, nebulous voter rolls.
Also in question is whether President Donald Trump will have the will to crack down further on immigration after his recent summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trump reportedly backpedaled on hardline stances related to national security, including bans on China’s acquisition of U.S. farmland.
“You want to see farm prices drop, you want to see farmers lose a lot of money? Just take that out of the market,” Trump said, appearing to support China’s purchase of farmland near military instillations during a recent interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Trump has previously wavered on his stance over H-1B highly-skilled worker visas, which allow tech companies and other high-dollar industries to outsource their work internationally.
But Trump also has been a staunch supporter of immigration reform in his second term, notably pursuing mass deportations and signing an executive order that would ban controversial “birthright citizenship” if the Supreme Court clears its path.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
