With the release yesterday of a framework, the White House set down its benchmarks for crafting a legislative fix to a broken immigration system and securing the border. If the one-page outline is a fair representation of where the Trump administration hopes to start negotiations, we are concerned about what bill will emerge at the end of the legislative process. Particularly when it will be shaped by an open amendment process in Congress.<\/p>\n
For months, President Trump has argued that any agreement that identifies a permanent solution to the 700,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program participants must<\/em> include an end to both chain migration and the visa lottery program, and funding for a border wall. And, the Administration stated, Congress should address border security and reforms to the legal immigration system should be take priority.<\/p>\n According to the framework, the Administration it would \u201celiminate lottery and reallocate the visas to reduce the family-based \u2018backlog\u2019 and high-skilled employment \u2018backlog\u2019. While an end to chain migration is good news, the reallocation of visas would not implement the needed limits on legal immigration,<\/p>\n In real-world terms, that \u201cbacklog\u201d means bringing in 4 million people who currently reside on chain-migration waiting lists. An already-burdened U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) would be further stretched to the limit processing millions of immigrants.<\/p>\n Which brings us to the ever-expanding scope of DACA. For months, President Trump heard lawmakers who warned that if amnesty is granted to DACA beneficiaries, the Democrats and open borders groups would demand more.<\/p>\n And it appears the Administration has acquiesced. Now included in the so-called DACA fix are \u201cother DACA-eligible illegal immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n So, the Administration wants the American people to buy into an agreement to put an additional 1.8 million Dreamers on a 10-12 year path to citizenship. And that is just if the estimate is accurate.<\/p>\n The Trump administration abandoned the idea of including in a bill mandatory E-verify and now the fences have been moved again. For President Trump to fulfill his first priority as chief executive \u2013 the security of the American people \u2013 he must focus on getting firm commitments from Congress that increases\u00a0 border security personnel, enhances legal authority to deport criminal aliens and guarantees that fully funding the border wall come first.<\/p>\n Speaking with CNBC today at the Davos conference, President Trump said<\/a> he believed lawmakers who have consistently supported stronger borders and limits on immigration are \u201cwilling to shift more\u201d in their positions.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd so am I,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n If he wants the American people to support him, he cannot \u201cshift\u201d any more than he already has.<\/p>\n