President Donald Trump has unveiled new legislation that would place limits on legal immigration to the US.

The US President said the RAISE act (Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act) would "reduce poverty, increase wages and save tax payers billions and billions of dollars."

The bill - a new version of legislation first introduced by two Republican senators earlier this year - sets out an immigration system based on merit and job skills instead of family connections.

Announcing the revised bill, the US President said it would shake up America's "very low skilled immigration system".

He said the new act would benefit other "immigrants, minority workers and struggling American families" who he claimed were most affected by "brand new arrivals".

The RAISE act would introduce a new points based system that the President said would favour applicants who can speak English, financially support themselves and their families, and demonstrate skills that will contribute to the American economy.

Mr Trump said the RAISE act would prevent new migrants and new immigrants from collecting welfare, a move he described as a "very big thing".

"They're not going to come in and just immediately go and collect welfare. That doesn't happen under the RAISE act. They can't do that," he said.

The President previewed the act to reporters at the White House on Wednesday, flanked by Republican senators David Perdue and Tom Cotton who had first introduced the bill in February.

He said: "Crucially the RAISE Act will give American workers a pay raise by reducing unskilled immigration.

"This legislation will not only restore our competitive edge in the 21st century but it will restore our sacred bonds of trust between America and its citizens.

"This legislation demonstrates our compassion for struggling American families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first and that puts America first."

Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration a hallmark of his administration

The White House said that only 1 in 15 immigrants comes to the US because of their skills, and the current system fails to place a priority on highly skilled immigrants.

The legislation introduced by senators Mr Perdue and Mr Cotton proposes to change the 1965 law to reduce the number of legal immigrants, limiting the number of people able to obtain green cards to join families already in the United States.

The bill would also aim to slash the number of refugees in half and eliminate a program that provides visas to countries with low rates of immigration.

The bill had largely been ignored in the Senate, but Mr Trump's announcement guarantees it more attention.