Immigration plan combines citizenship and security
WASHINGTON – A White House proposal on immigration will contain a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million young people brought into the USA as children and $25 billion for a border wall and other security measures.
President Trump’s plan includes a massive cut in family-based immigration and the end to a diversity visa lottery system that gives preference to immigrants from underrepresented countries, according to a White House briefing for congressional staffers and Trump allies hosted Thursday by
White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.
The proposal is designed to win 60 Senate votes and break a potential filibuster that could trigger another government shutdown next month, Miller said.
The path to citizenship has been among the most contentious issues in the immigration debate over the past decade, and Trump has taken inconsistent positions on it. Wednesday, the president said he’s willing to consider citizenship for “DREAMers” who came to the USA as children.
“If they do a great job, I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive of, after a period of years, being able to become a citizen,” Trump said. That period would be 10 to 12 years, Trump said.
The proposal to cut back familybased immigration is sure to draw fire from Democrats as it would be a nearly
25% cut to legal immigration into the country. Under the new plan, Miller said, U.S. citizens and green card holders would be allowed to sponsor only their spouses and minor children to enter the country.
The White House hopes the Senate will pass the immigration framework the same week as the Feb. 8 expiration date for a current temporary spending plan passed this week to end a threeday shutdown. Among the issues the White House has insisted be included in any immigration overhaul:
DREAMers: The number of immigrants who could qualify for citizenship would be larger than the group protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. That program covered nearly
800,000 DREAMers, but Miller said the new plan could protect up to
1.8 million people.
Eligibility criteria would include requirements for “work, education and good moral character,” according to a White House summary of the plan.
A bipartisan Senate proposal would allow DREAMers to become citizens after 12 years, or 10 years if they were approved for DACA. Border security: The White House proposed a $25 billion “trust fund” to build at least part of a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. That would be a sharp increase from the $18 billion the Department of Homeland Security requested but includes improvements to ports of entry on the Canadian border as well.
Though the wall has been a sticking point for congressional Democrats, Trump said Wednesday, “If you don’t have a wall, you don’t have DACA.”
In negotiations over a spending bill to keep the government open last week, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of New York told Trump he would be willing to appropriate money for a border wall in exchange for protections for DREAMers, but he was turned down. The government shut down early Saturday morning and did not reopen until Monday. Family-based migration: The White House plan would restrict the practice of sponsoring relatives for green cards to “nuclear families,” namely spouses and minor children. That practice, dubbed “chain migration” by Trump and other critics, has long been the main source of immigration into the U.S.
According to an analysis of Department of Homeland Security data, the cut would eliminate nearly a quarter of the roughly 1 million immigrants allowed to enter the USA each year.
In 2016, the U.S. government granted lawful permanent residence known as green cards to 1.2 million foreigners. More than 260,000 green cards – 23% – were granted to parents, adult children, siblings, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of U.S. citizens and green card holders. Visa lottery: Created by Congress in 1990, the diversity visa lottery grants 50,000 visas a year to people from countries under-represented in the U.S. In recent years, most have come from Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
The White House plan would devote those slots to fill in the family-based and high-skilled visa backlog. After those slots are filled, the visa lottery would end completely, Miller said.
Alan Gomez reported from Miami.
“If you don’t have a wall, you don’t have DACA.” President Trump