As he works toward a bargain with Democrats to resolve the status of nearly 800,000 illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, Donald Trump said Friday that he wont’t embrace a solution that enables so-called ‘chain migration.’
Chain migration refers to the legal right of citizens and other legal U.S. residents to ‘sponsor’ relatives living outside the country, bringing them one by one in expanding circles until extended families have immigrated.
‘CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration!’ Trump tweeted Friday, putting the words in upper case letters.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Friday that the president will lay out his specific proposals and their limitations in between 7 and 10 days.
Under proposals favored by some Democrats, people benefiting from the Obama-era ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA) program could gain legal status or citizenship, opening up the possibility that they could help overseas relatives obtain lawful residence.
The Trump administration fueled speculation on Thursday, with deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters telling reporters aboard Air Force One that a ‘responsible path forward’ for DACA recipients ‘could include legal citizenship over a period of time.’
‘But absolutely by no means will this White House discuss amnesty,’ Walters added, confusing journalists on the plane.
President Donald Trump insisted Friday that if he makes a deal with Democrats on an overhaul of America’s immigration system, it won’t allow for so-called ‘chain migration’
Chain migration refers to the legal right of citizens and other legal U.S. residents to ‘sponsor’ relatives living outside the country, bringing them one by one in expanding circles until extended families have immigrated.
An artist in Mexico last week erected a 70-foot mural of a boy peering over the border into the U.S. to draw attention to Barack Obama’s ‘Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals’ program, which protects nearly 800,000 people from deportation who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children
The prospect of elevating DACA recipients to citizenship status is troublesome for conservative Republicans who point out that while they were brought into the United States, giving them the right to sponsor their parents for legal immigration status could reward the adults who snuck them across the border.
Chain migration was made part of federal immigration law in 1965 with the Hart-Celler Act, which gave relatives of legal U.S. residents preference over other potential immigrants with skills the government had prioritized.
The law has made family reunification a central plank of American immigration policy since 1924, when Congress allowed citizens’ and residents’ spouses and unmarried adult children up to age 21 to ignore per-country quotas and emigrate to the U.S.
In 1965 about 32,700 immigrants entered the United States on the basis of their existing family relationships. By 2001 the annual number of family-sponsored immigration visas had grown to nearly 677,000.
Last month Trump announced his backing for a broader plan that would limit legal immigration by placing an emphasis on a skills-based merit system instead of family connections.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said Thursday that ‘moving from what people describe as chain migration to a skills-based merit system makes a lot of sense’
Trump shocked many in Washington this week by working with Democratic congressional leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer (left) and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (right) on an immigration deal, leaving his fellow Republicans on the outside looking in
Applicants from foreign countries would be rewarded if they can speak English, financially support themselves and bring skills that ‘can contribute to our economy,’ Trump said in early August.
House Speaker Paul Ryan told the Associated Press on Thursday that ‘moving from what people describe as chain migration to a skills-based merit system makes a lot of sense, while keeping nuclear families intact.’
The president stunned many Republicans this week by entering into negotiations with top congressional Democrats over the DACA program.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that the administration was terminating DACA itself, subject to a six-month delay intended to give Congress a window to decide recipients’ fate.
The latest episode of the saga came amid Democrats’ claims Wednesday night that Trump had promised to sign a bill formalizing DACA without including funding for the wall he has pledged to build between the U.S. and Mexico.
Trump himself tweeted Thursday that it wasn’t true.
Preserving the DACA program has been the focus of numerous immigrants-rights protests, like this one held Sept. 9 in New York City, since Trump took office
‘No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote,’ he wrote.
But he has also offered a full-throated defense of DACA recipients, insisting that he intends to show ‘great heart’ in dealing with their situations.
‘Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!’ he said Thursday morning on Twitter.
‘They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own – brought in by parents at young age.’
Trump added that he would insist on a ‘BIG border security’ component to any immigration deal with Congress.