Story highlights Flake recently kicked off his re-election campaign with a book railing against Trump

"I grew up working next to migrant labor. I always felt they were making America better," he said

(CNN) President Donald Trump's proposed legislation to curb the level of legal immigration to the United States by instituting a skills-based immigration system will not benefit the American economy, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, said Thursday.

"While I agree we ought to move in the direction of some other countries like Australia and Canada in terms of merit-based visas, the overall number cut -- I think this would cut it to about half of our legal immigration -- just isn't the right direction for the economy," Flake, whose book criticizing Trump made headlines this week, told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day."

Immigrants have a long history of enhancing the economy in the Southwestern border state, Flake said, and have left the country "better off."

"We know very well -- in Arizona, in particular -- the value of migrant labor," he said. "I grew up on a ranch in Snowflake, Arizona. I grew up working next to migrant labor. I always felt they were making America better, and we are better off because of their hard work."

The GOP lawmaker said he supports bipartisan efforts to reform immigration laws that help undocumented immigrants working to support their families.

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