House GOP drafts broad immigration bill
WASHINGTON — House Republicans unveiled a “discussion draft” of a sweeping immigration bill that includes a path to citizenship for young immigrants, $25 billion in border security — including advance funds for President Donald Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico — and a provision aimed at addressing the crisis of family separations at the border.
Presented to lawmakers Thursday, the measure sticks to Trump’s immigration priorities while trying to join the party’s warring conservative and moderate factions on an issue that has divided the GOP for years. Passage is far from certain.
Speaker Paul Ryan wants to hold a vote as soon as next week to put the issue to rest before the midterm elections. He called it a “very good compromise.”
The bill represents the kind of ambitious overhaul of the immigration system that Republicans have long considered. It shifts from the nation’s longtime preference for family immigration to a new system that prioritizes entry based on merits and skills. It beefs up border security, clamps down on illegal entries and reinforces other immigration laws.
To address widespread concern over the sharp rise in families being separated at the border, the measure proposes keeping children in detention with their parents, undoing 2-decade-old rules that limit the time that minors can be held in custody. The White House sought the change.
Trump has been supportive of the House GOP’s approach, but the legislation faces opposition from Democrats. It is unlikely to be approved in the Senate.
Advocates for immigrants said the changes to family detentions are particularly severe. Kerri Talbot, the policy director at Immigration Hub, called it a “wish list” from top White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller that “would allow the Trump administration to jail children for long periods of time.”
GOP leaders have said they might take up the family detentions issue separately, if needed. Administration officials have said they need more money for detention beds to house the influx of immigrants resulting from the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of steppedup border enforcement.
The main new element is a path to citizenship for as many as 1.8 million young people who have been living in the U.S. illegally since childhood. About 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals participants, as well as a broader group of young people who didn’t register for that program, could apply for legal status, which would be valid for six years and renewable “indefinitely.” Eventually, those who are under 31 years old and have been in the country since at least June 2007 could begin to be awarded green cards based on a point system.