The House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims recently held an oversight hearing to examine the Diversity Visa Program, an initiative that would give immigrants from a wider selection of countries a better chance at immigration. Among those present were the Honorable Bruce Morrison, former member of Congress, Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, and Rosemary Jenks, director of government relations for the group NumbersUSA, an anti-immigration organization.

Chairman Morrison offered testimony to the consequences of the Immigration Act of 1990 (a bill which he authored) and the further history of the Diversity Visa Program. He then discussed the continued success of the program, noting that the program positively impacted the number of Africans immigrating by choice for the first time in our nation’s history. He concluded with his opinions on possible improvements to the program. The Honorable Howard Krongard, Inspector General of the United States, agreed with Chairman Morrison, adding concerns about the security risks posed by the lottery system offered by the Diversity Visa Program.

Mr. Krikorian and Ms. Jenks were of a differing opinion, however, citing inequality and injustice in the lottery system. Mr. Krikorian argued that the current system poses too many workload and fraud issues, and that leaving immigration up to chance is irresponsible and potentially harmful to national security. Ms. Jenks vehemently disagreed with the contention that the Diversity Visa Program strives to eliminate national-origins based discrimination, saying, “It discriminates to the detriment of some and to the benefit of others based solely on a person’s nationality.” Both feel that the program should be discontinued immediately.