Pro-American immigration reformers say President Trump’s plan to offer a work permit amnesty to about a million illegal aliens and foreign nationals could encourage more caravans of Central Americans to come to the United States at the U.S-Mexico border.
In a weekend announcement, Trump offered Republicans and Democrats a plan to give amnesty in the form of three-year work permits to a little more than 700,000 illegal aliens who are enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The deal gives the roughly 325,000 foreign nationals living in the U.S. on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) amnesty to remain in the country. In return, about a fifth of border wall funding — $5.7 billion — would be secured to build a barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“Enacting an amnesty for young people right at the time that yet another caravan is en route to the United States and planning to enter illegally is exactly the wrong thing to do as a matter of policy,” Center for Immigration Studies Director of Policy Jessica Vaughan told Breitbart News. “It’s also the wrong thing to do as a matter of politics, because this would be an embarrassingly huge win for the Democrats and more-migration Republicans. It’s not a deal, actually; the President would be getting rolled.”
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said he supports the deal, challenging the idea that the plan is “amnesty” for illegal aliens, noting that it is a mere extension of the current DACA program and does not include a pathway to U.S. citizenship for illegal aliens.
“The President is showing great resolve to fix a problem that has festered for decades into a current national crisis,” Gosar said. “The priority the nation faces is securing the border. The President’s proposal to extend provisional status to DACA illegals is generous and the Democrats should accept. The President’s proposal does not include amnesty. We support the President’s offer.”
Roy Beck, the president of NumbersUSA — which represents the interests of American workers in the immigration debate — told Breitbart News in a statement that the plan outlined by Trump will incentivize more illegal immigration.
“The offer the President announced today is a loser for the forgotten American workers who were central to his campaign promises,” Beck said in a statement to Breitbart News.
“An amnesty-for-wall trade would once again reward previous immigration lawbreakers without preventing future immigration lawbreakers,” Beck continued. “This kind of amnesty deal will incentivize more caravans, more illegal border crossers, and more visa overstayers at the expense of the most vulnerable American workers who have to compete with the illegal labor force.”
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) spokesman RJ Hauman told Breitbart News of the plan:
Why are we trying to exchange just a quarter of what we want [on immigration] for an amnesty?
There is a chance that the wall will never be built but the amnesty happens immediately and is irreversible. It is 1986 all over again – when the amnesty happened immediately and the reforms never happened.
NumbersUSA’s Rosemary Jenks blamed previous amnesties for the current skyrocketing levels of illegal immigration at the southern border, saying such a deal is not the answer to securing wall funding.
“Amnesty — President Obama’s unconstitutional DACA program — is why we have a crisis on the border in the first place,” Jenks said in a statement to Breitbart News. “More amnesty will only encourage more illegal immigration and abuse of our laws.”
Hauman said the same.
“There’s one thing that will cause another crisis — another amnesty. this whole thing started with the DACA magnet,” he told Breitbart News. “The notion that we’re about to solve the problem with more of what caused the problems in the first place is ridiculous.”
The deal is already being turned down by House and Senate Democrats, aides tell the news media. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the deal is a “non-starter” for her caucus. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he will also oppose the offer.
The creation of the deal — crafted by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), White House adviser Jared Kushner, and Vice President Mike Pence — has been long supported by the billionaire donors of the Republican Party, including the pro-mass immigration Koch brothers and the Chamber of Commerce. The Koch brothers’ spokespeople, however, say they prefer a “permanent solution” for DACA illegal aliens, one that gives eligible recipients a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
Corporate interests and the big business lobby have the most to gain from granting amnesty to DACA illegal aliens, as legalizing low-skilled foreign workers would drag down wages for Americans, drive up profit margins for corporations, and leave U.S. taxpayers with the costs.
A DACA amnesty would put more U.S.-born children of illegal aliens — commonly known as “anchor babies” — on federal welfare, as Breitbart News reported, while American taxpayers would be left with a $26 billion bill.
Additionally, about one in five DACA illegal aliens, after an amnesty, would end up on food stamps, while at least one in seven would go on Medicaid.
Since DACA’s inception, more than 2,100 DACA recipients saw their protected status revoked for being involved in gang activity or suspected/convicted of a felony. Due to a hidden gateway in the DACA program, more than 39,000 illegal aliens have been able to obtain Green Cards and more than 1,000 naturalized.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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