U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) announced the Assimilation Act in a fiery Senate floor speech Tuesday, introducing legislation that would overhaul the nation’s immigration system to prioritize merit, self-sufficiency, and commitment to American values.

“It’s a privilege, not a right, to live in the United States of America,” Tuberville said.

The bill would end chain migration, eliminate the diversity visa lottery, establish a national-interest standard for admissions, crack down on visa overstays, and require that citizenship reflects what Tuberville called “commitment, character, and real civic integration.”

“My bill is simple,” Tuberville said. “It says America has a right to set immigration policy in the national interest. It says our system should favor people who will work hard, contribute, support themselves, and strengthen the United States of America.”

Tuberville pushed back against critics who frame assimilation as racially motivated.

“Assimilation has absolutely nothing to do with race. It’s about values,” Tuberville said. “Assimilation doesn’t mean you abandon your heritage or your faith or forget where you’re from. It’s about embracing a new shared belief system.”

Tuberville has been one of the Senate’s most vocal immigration hawks, previously confronting experts on foreign influence in American pharmaceutical supply chains and backing President Trump’s border security agenda.

“Mass migration without assimilation will erase our country’s identity,” Tuberville warned. “When a nation loses the courage to define itself, it invites others to redefine it beyond recognition.”

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].