Trump on immigration
President’s proposal doesn’t please either side of the issue
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s new immigration proposal drew fire from all sides Thursday. Democrats dismissed it as a campaign statement, and some conservatives argued it doesn’t go far enough.
Crafted by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, the proposal would create a system to prioritize highly skilled immigrants, but it glosses over concerns Trump has raised for years about immigrants in the country illegally as well as a spike in asylum seekers. The president declared a national emergency at the border three months ago.
White House officials described the plan as an effort to rally Republicans heading into the 2020 election. Trump called on Democrats to work with the administration but said he would go it alone if they chose not to.
“We will get it approved immediately after the election, when we take back the House, keep the Senate and, of course, hold the presidency,” Trump said at a White House Rose Garden event. “One of the reasons we will win is because of our strong, fair and proAmerica immigration policy.”
Trump said the proposal includes a trust fund, paid for by border fees, to finance border security. The plan would change the asylum system, he said, screening out “meritless claims” while expediting others. It was not immediately clear how the administration would decide which is which. “Under this plan, the border will finally be fully and totally secure,” Trump said.
What’s not included?
The proposal – which was scant on details – is silent on key issues:
❚ A solution for “Dreamers,” the roughly 3.8 million immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Trump terminated a program in 2017 that shielded about 800,000 of them from deportation, but federal courts have left the program intact for now. Democrats said they need a fix for Dreamers to support broader immigration changes.
❚ A plan to deal with the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, which Trump has threatened to deport since before taking office. Trump’s 2016 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, and his centerpiece response was his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. This latest proposal deals almost exclusively with legal immigration.
❚ A solution for more than 300,000 foreign nationals who live legally in the USA under the Temporary Protected Status program, which allows people to stay while their home countries recover from natural disasters and conflict. Federal courts blocked the administration’s effort to phase out the program.
Tough reaction
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., described the notion of creating a “merit” immigration system, a term Trump embraces, as “condescending.”
“Are they saying family is without merit?” Pelosi asked. “Are they saying most of the people who have come to the United States in the history of our country are without merit because they don’t have an engineering degree?”
The Chamber of Commerce said it appreciated the effort, but “much work remains ahead of us on several issues.”
Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates for lower levels of legal and illegal immigration, said he is encouraged the administration is working to improve the system, but he wants to see the fine print.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for less immigration and advises the Trump administration on policy, said Kushner’s team should be praised for finally putting to paper ideas Trump has only talked about at campaign rallies. But he was disappointed the plan doesn’t call for an overall reduction in legal immigration.