At Donald Trump’s press encounter on Wednesday, he answered a question about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) by saying the press should tell Dreamers not to worry. But, the very next day, his aides leaked the White House outline for a deal. It was written by Steve Miller. Worry.
While media coverage focuses on “The Wall” as the main stumbling block in reaching an agreement, the Trump proposal would virtually dismantle the current legal immigration system in exchange for a difficult path to legal status and citizenship for Dreamers. Trump and Miller are using public sympathy for Dreamers to extort an end to what they see as the pollution of America by non-white immigrants. He isn’t looking out for the Dreamers; he is using them to get what he really wants.
The main feature of Trump’s take-it-or-leave-it offer is the crushing of family-based immigration. In truly Orwellian language, the Miller-authored one pager headlines this section as “Protect the Nuclear Family.” Protect the nuclear family from whom? There were never any serious legislative proposal to end the immigration of citizens spouses and minor children. And the new Trump “deal” does not provide a single additional protection to these “nuclear” relatives. Instead, it completely obliterates all other family-based immigration.
Under current law, United States citizens can apply for permanent residence for their parents, as long as they are over 21 years old. The Trump plan would make that illegal. Citizens could no longer apply for their parents. That is somehow protecting the nuclear family, according to Steve Miller.
Citizens would also be barred from applying for their 21-year-old kids. If a citizen’s 19-year-old was married, he could not come to the U.S. as a permanent resident either if Plan Trump becomes law. The proposal also eliminates the visa lottery. Combined, these changes would reduce legal immigration to the United States by roughly one-third each year.
Oh, yeah, and the proposal includes The Wall.
Call Senator Schumer and demand that he not cave in to Trump.
