Locals optimistic of Trump’s citizenship path for Dreamers
Local officials are showing optimism for a proposed plan from President Donald Trump which includes a citizenship path to nearly 2 million “Dreamers” in the country.
On Thursday, White House officials provided a preview of Trumps immigration plan, which included tighter restrictions on legal immigration and $25 billion in border security.
“If they could work that out, it would be great news,” said the Rev. Ron Griffen, lead pastor at First United Methodist Church in El Centro and Board chair for the Our Justice for Our Neighbors advocacy group.
OJON provides immigration legal assistance, educational opportunities, advocacy and more to legal and illegal immigrants in the Imperial Valley.
“It should have been done a long time ago,” Griffen said of a path to citizenship for Dreamers.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program currently covers about 690,000 “Dreamers” and Trump’s plan would expand this by adjusting requirements White House officials said Thursday.
They did not elaborate on the requirements, but did state it would not allow parents of those immigrants to seek lawful status.
Trump ended the DACA program in September which set a March 5 deadline for Congress to find a citizenship path for Dreamers or face deportation.
Trump said Wednesday he was open to a citizenship pathway for DACA children.
“We’re going to morph into it,” he said Wednesday. “It’s going to happen, at some point in the future, over a period of 10 to 12 years.”
The Imperial Valley College in September, when Trump announced he was ending the DACA program, promised protection for any of its illegal immigrant students through a statement from spokesman Bill Gay.
It promised not to share immigration status with any federal agency without a court order.
On Thursday, Gay provided another statement from the college, showing optimism for the citizenship path for Dreamers.
“We are encouraged by the President’s comments. Last February, our Board adopted a resolution in support of the DACA program and that is still very much our position,” the statement said. “These young people are among our best and brightest and serve a path to citizenship.”
Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia, who represents the Imperial Valley, also showed encouragement.
“I consider these discussions to create pathways to citizenship for DACA recipients a step in the right direction. At last, we are seeing a genuine effort to come to the table on both sides of the aisle. Compromise is the nature of democracy and we cannot continue to hold the fate of our DREAMers in limbo,” Garcia said in a statement.
Trump’s plan
His proposed plan would restrict new-family based immigration to spouses and minor children. That would prevent parents and adult siblings from entering the country.
The plan would also end new visa applications and allow those already in the process to be completed.
Trump’s plan would also halt the diversity visa lottery program.