The White House says it has broken down, country-by-country, how many migrants were admitted to the United States through family preference, or as immediate relatives of migrants already admitted into the country.
According to the Department of Homeland Security data, the U.S. permanently resettled approximately 9.3 million new immigrants on the basis of family ties between 2005 and 2015, which represents more than 70 percent of all new immigration in that period.
President Donald Trump has vowed to crack down on so-called "chain migration" as part of his efforts to tighten and reform existing immigration laws.
"Seven out of every ten immigrants who come to this country, they don't come because of their job skills or their education. They come simply because they had a family member come here five or ten or 20 years ago," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said on "Special Report."
He added that only one in five green cards is issued based on a migrant's skills, according to the Department of Homeland Security's numbers.
He said that's one of many reasons why he's sponsoring the RAISE Act, which would limit the family path to spouses and minor children, as opposed to extended and adult family members.
"You wouldn't be bringing in so many unskilled workers who are going to compete for American jobs and drive down American wages," Cotton said.
He echoed comments from Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that ending chain migration is necessary in exchange for any deal on DACA.
"It's a necessary condition, maybe not the only condition, but a necessary condition," Cotton said. "If you give amnesty to one or two million illegal immigrants who were brought here through no fault of their own as kids, you're going to have at least a couple of negative effects. And one of those negative effects is you're going to create a whole new chain of chain migration. The way to control for that negative effect is to stop chain migration."
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