Exclusive–Paul Gosar: GOP/Democrat Budget Gives U.S. Citizenship to At Least 4K Liberian Nationals

A Defense Department budget approved by Republican and Democrat lawmakers gives amnesty to at least 4,000 Liberian nationals who would otherwise have to self-deport from the United States, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) says.

As Breitbart News reported, a spending package passed by Republican and Democrat lawmakers would provide amnesty to Liberian nationals, nearly a thousand of whom had been continuously allowed to remain in the U.S. on a temporary basis.

In March 2018, President Trump ended Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Liberia. The decision means that Liberian nationals will need to self-deport from the U.S. in March 2020, though, if Trump signs the spending package, those nationals will be allowed to stay and eventually apply for American citizenship.

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“There was in there an amnesty package for, we believe, 4,000 Liberians as we read it and potentially more,” Gosar told SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight. “There are potentially 250,000 plus Liberians that have come to this country. This first bit of amnesty were those that would be qualified as the ‘DREAMer’ application from Liberia. We think it’s going to get bigger.”

“Once again, you get less than 24 hours to read a bill, this stuff is packed full of it. I have to complain at both Republicans and Democrats for doing this,” Gosar said.

The amnesty for Liberian nationals slipped into the defense budget had been pushed for months by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and a handful of Minnesota lawmakers.

Effectively, all Liberian nationals who were allowed to stay in the U.S. over the last few decades will now be allowed to adjust their immigration status, making them permanent residents who can eventually apply to become American citizens.

Liberian nationals will only be disqualified from the amnesty if they have been convicted of aggravated felonies such as murder, rape, child sex abuse, sex trafficking, and kidnapping.

Should Trump approve the spending package, it will be the first official amnesty provided to foreign nationals in the U.S. since the year 2000.

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