LA Times: Trump Should ‘Revive’ Gang of Eight Amnesty Bill

The Los Angeles Times editorial board is requesting President Donald Trump to “revive” the infamous ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty legislation that would have legalized some 12 to 30 million illegal immigrants in the U.S.

In the L.A. Times editorial, Trump’s current immigration enforcement measures were blasted as “bullying” and the deportation of illegal immigrants was slammed for allegedly creating “more problems than it solves.”

Instead, the L.A. Times editors said the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty legislation, which Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) both heralded in 2013, is the answer to the current immigration problem facing the U.S.

Most of the 11 million people living in the country illegally have been here for more than a decade, and have become entwined in the fabric of communities despite their illegal status. They are longtime neighbors and friends, the parents of American children, and workers who fill a significant percentage of the jobs in the agriculture, construction and service industries. Kicking them all out creates more problems than it solves. So rather than rousting those who established themselves here years ago without permission and otherwise have not broken significant laws, the administration should work with Congress to revive the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill and tackle this issue in a humane, pragmatic and forward-looking manner that emphasizes what is best for the country. In fact, most Americans support immigration and immigration reform, and want a path for legalization for those who have been longstanding productive members of American society.

At the risk of belaboring the obvious, immigration — despite society’s occasional surges of xenophobia — made this country. Not only does it define the nation’s past, it will define the future, as well. Yes, it needs to be orderly and controlled, which is why responsible national leadership is crucial. Instead, we get bellicosity and fear-mongering. With Republicans controlling both Congress and the White House, the immigration system is theirs to fix. They need to get to it, rather than pursuing draconian, legally unsound and disruptive enforcement strategies.

Amnesty has long been denounced by Trump and his Attorney General Jeff Sessions for its rewarding of legal status to what they see as border-crossers and line-jumpers in the illegal immigration system.

That viewpoint by Trump and Sessions has not stopped efforts by more establishment-aligned GOP senators and congressmen.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) most recently introduced an immigration overhaul legislation that would include amnesty for the millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S., as Breitbart Texas reported.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.