The White House has outlined an immigration plan for nearly 2 million people to legally become citizens of the United States in exchange for funding for a controversial border wall with Mexico. This framework was proposed by a senior Trump aide following legislative negotiations with the Democratic Party leaders. The proposed bill which will be unveiled on Monday requests $25 billion I funds for a wall on the US-Mexican border. The Democrats, who are against funding for the wall, criticize this new plan.
What does the plan entail?
According to social media, the details of this plan emerged in a conference call on Thursday between White House Policy Chief Stephen Miller and some Republican congressional aides. Miller described the plan as a “dramatic concession”. The proposal would embark a ten- to twelve- year path to citizenship for 1.8 million people. This number includes the 700,000 “Dreamers” – immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children and were under the protection of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era programme.
The remaining 1.1 million comprises immigrants who did not apply for DACA but are still eligible for the scheme. The plan also plans to put an end to two other initiatives that are habitually censured by the US president. It proposes to restrict “chain migration” and allow US residents only to get visas for their spouses and children, and not their extended families. The White House would also scrap the diversity visa lottery, which randomly awards 50000 people from all over the world with Green Cards.
What is the response?
Republican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton who is one of the most conservative voices on immigration policy was welcoming to the White House plan. Democrats, however, are still unimpressed. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin said in a statement that Dreamers should not be hostages to the president’s crusade to tear families apart and squander billions of American tax money on an “ineffective wall”. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was among those who were tweeting their frustrations on the proposed White House plan. United We Dream, which is a young immigrant’s organization, described the White House plan as a “white supremacist ransom note”.
The clock is ticking towards another budget shutdown unless this immigration stalemate comes to an end. Of course, the fate of these young undocumented immigrants continues to linger in the hands of the divided parties.
