President Donald Trump is offering up a plan that will allow a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who came to the country as children. The plan was announced during a call held by White House Adviser Stephen Miller, who issued the White House's demands for a deal on DACA. Reports by Axios and Politico were used as resources for this article.
Let's make a deal
The deal must include a $25 billion dollar trust fund for the border wall and an end to chain migration and the Diversity Visa Lottery.
This Path To Citizenship is a major concession for Democrats, who have maintained that they will not support any deal that does not offer citizenship for Dreamers.
President Trump has said that he would support legislation that would provide citizenship over time. Miller also spoke about the desire for more deportations at the US-Mexico border, but it's not part of Trump's demands. Congress is still waiting to hear details from Trump on what exactly he wants in this immigration legislation.
President Trump ended the Obama-instituted DACA program last September and gave Congress until March to find a solution for those brought to the US as children and whose legal status remains undecided.
The government was shut down for three days over immigration and demanded protection of the Dreamers. As part of the deal to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to bring up DACA if no deal is reached between Trump and Congress by February 8.
President Trump told reporters that they are not working toward amnesty, but are working to find a way to allow people to stay here. Trump said the process will take 10 to 12 years. Legal status could be revoked for criminal behavior and if individuals are deemed a national security threat. There's also work and education requirements, which have not been specified.
Trump can't please everyone
The president has received praise and criticism over his plan.
Breitbart News, a strong ally of Trump, called him "Amnesty Don," but Senator Tom Cotton on Fox News called the proposal fair and humane. Some Democrats such as the Congressional Black Caucus want to keep the diversity part of the visa lottery program, which has been key in bringing African immigrants into this country.
Senator Ted Cruz, during an online streamed press conference, spoke out and said he will not support any path to citizenship for any illegal immigrant. Democrat Senator Brian Schatz told USA Today, there is no justification for reducing legal immigration. Many Republicans, though, have praised Trump for offering a proposal without endorsing all parts of it. Immigration could now become a focus of Trump's first State of the Union address.