Trump backs plan seeking to curb legal immigration in U.S.

United States President Donald Trump threw his support behind the legislation that looks to curb the level of legal immigration into the country by proposing a skills-based immigration system.

Trump on Wednesday, in a speech at the White House, backed the effort from Republican Sens. David Perdue and Tom Cotton.

Top White House aides have been working with Perdue and Cotton on the bill.

Trump cast the proposal as a way to dramatically remake the current immigration system and to protect American workers by reducing unskilled immigration.

The new system aims at creating a merit-based system that grades possible immigrants based on their "ability to work" in the United States.

"It has not been fair to our people, to our citizens, to our workers," Trump said of the current immigration system, specifically citing low-income and minority workers.

Trump said the bill "would represent the most significant reform to our immigration system in half a century."

The duo had initially unveiled the "Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act" in February, arguing that the bill will "help raise American workers' wages by restoring legal immigration levels to their historical norms and rebalancing the system toward employment-based visas and immediate-family household members."

The plan, however, now faces long odds in Congress.