Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a prominent Gang of Eight member, said on Monday that he will support a “legislative solution” for DACA recipients if President Donald Trump ends former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) executive amnesty.
“If President Trump chooses to cancel the DACA program and give Congress six months to find a legislative solution, I will be supportive of such a position,” Graham said in a statement. “I have always believed DACA was a presidential overreach. However, I equally understand the plight of the Dream Act kids who — for all practical purposes — know no other country than America.”
Graham said he is looking forward to working with Trump and his colleagues in Congress to “find a fair solution to this difficult problem.”
Graham—along with Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Dick Durbin (D-IL)—sponsored the Gang of Eight comprehensive amnesty bill that failed to pass Congress due to immense public pressure against it.
Gang of Eight Senators with the exception of Rubio have been vocal in support of a legislative solution for DACA recipients.
McCain and Flake have also expressed support for a comprehensive amnesty bill in this Congress, with McCain telling the Arizona Republic that he thinks there are a lot of “deals” that can be made when he returns to the Senate.
“Immigration reform is one of the issues I’d like to see resolved,” McCain said in an interview last montt. “I’ve got to talk to him (Schumer) about when would be the best time. I think there are all kinds of deals to be made out there. I really do.”