White House DACA Plan Includes Path to Citizenship for 1.8 Million ‘Dreamers’
A White House immigration framework set to be introduced next week includes a path to citizenship for roughly 1.8 million younger illegal immigrants, a top administration official said Thursday.
The plan outlines the Trump administration’s wish list for a bill to replace the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era executive amnesty act that protected roughly 790,000 illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
In exchange for a path to citizenship — what immigration hawks would call amnesty — the White House is asking for $25 billion to fully fund the border wall, an end to chain migration and ending the visa lottery system. The provisions were outlined in a conference call between a top White House aide and House Republican staff, according to Politico.
The White House framework is based on previously released administration demands for a DACA compromise bill. But the number of younger illegal immigrants to be covered by the proposal is new, and far higher than the number that received DACA protections.
White House officials said Thursday the new proposal is “a compromise position that we believe … will get 60 votes in the Senate” and “a framework that ultimately will lead to passage of a law.”
Democrats have been seeking a bill that covers DACA recipients, and as many as 2 million similarly situated illegal immigrants who did not apply or did not qualify for the Obama amnesty.
The White House proposals appears to be an effort to split the difference between the Democratic demand and a conservative immigration reform bill from House Republicans, which was limited to roughly 700,000 existing DACA beneficiaries.
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