President Trump said Wednesday that his administration would “consider” offering a path to citizenship for so-called “Dreamers.” In exchange for offering a qausi-amnesty (not really amnesty) package, the President is expecting funding for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as changes to the diversity lottery program and limits on so-called chain migration.

This statement and other recent statements by President Trump indicate that some form of amnesty (for lack of a better word) of Dreamers may very well take place sometime in the not-so-distant future, depending upon Democrat reactions and concessions to the plan.

I believe it is obvious that some pathway to citizenship should be offered to “some” Dreamers. Most of these illegal immigrants grew up in the United States and went to school here. The United States is the only country they know. Many speak little to no Spanish.

Following is a plan I would support. These are my own ideas on a fair pathway to citizenship, and it is NOT a gimme….

  1. The clock starts upon the immigrant’s application for a resident visa, renewable annually.
  2. Upon visa renewal application, immigrants must provide their employment record or proof of school attendance for the past year. Excessive idle time may be grounds for disqualification.
  3. Immigrants may apply for citizenship five years after receipt of their resident visa.
  4. Immigrants must pass a background check and citizenship exam on American history and culture, the United States Constitution, and our political system and leaders.
  5. This point I would make non-negotiable, as it is what got us into this problem in the first place…. Immigrants (in this Dreamer program only) may not vote in US elections for a period of 10 years after being granted citizenship.
  6. Failure to meet the above requirements will result in deportation, which may be appealed ONCE before the deportation process begins.
  7. Failure to apply for a resident visa within 30 days of the implementation of the program will trigger the deportation process. Once deported, the immigrant may still apply for a visa like all other immigrants who wish to become American citizens, but must go to the back of the line.

If immigrants want to live in America, they MUST become Americans, a process they should have begun long ago.

Reference condition #5 – being granted the “privilege” to vote is what convinced Democrats to invite as many illegal immigrants into the United States as possible over the past several decades, knowing they will likely vote Democrat. That incentive must be removed or Democrats will always be looking for new and creative ways to sneak illegals into the country. Any serious immigration plan, in my opinion, must include this condition.

Keep in mind that many Dreamers will protest this plan which they will consider excessively strict. That doesn’t matter. They can carry signs and whine (the sign and whine routine) all they want. If they fail to meet the requirements of the program, they will be deported.

Let us know what you think in the poll at the end of the article.

From the Washington Examiner

President Trump plans to release a legislative framework for immigration early next week that would establish a path to citizenship for the 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants who were eligible for legal status protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The large-scale amnesty will factor into a broader immigration reform package that would curb chain migration via family reunficiation and end the diversity visa lottery, which supplies green cards at random to applicants from under-represented countries.

Trump’s offer, which top policy adviser Stephen Miller pitched to House Republicans on Thursday, would offer a path to citizenship for far more than the estimated 690,000 current DACA recipients who the White House said one day earlier would be the focus of any agreement. And it would redistribute the visas presently allocated under the lottery system to immigrants whose status is pending in a “backlog” of high-skilled or family-based applicants.

Trump said Wednesday that his administration would consider offering a path to citizenship for undocumented youth in 10 to 12 years in exchange for funding for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, changes to the lottery program, and new limits on family-based legal immigration.

“If they do a great job, I think it’s a nice thing to have the incentive of, after a period years, being able to become a citizen,” the president said in reference to so-called Dreamers on Wednesday.

Trump said this week that he plans to ask for $25 billion to fund his promised wall, as well as boost tactical infrastructure and surveillance at the Southwest border. The White House had previously floated an $18 billion ask earlier this month. A source familiar with the proposal estimated that the plan would also reduce legal immigration to the U.S. by 25 percent, as only spouses and minor children would remain eligible for family-based visas.

Other provisions of the White House’s proposal would include stricter enforcement for immigrants who overstay their visas, ending catch-and-release programs and hiring more personnel at the Department of Homeland Security — including immigration judges and prosecutors — to crack down further on illegal immigration.

Conservative House members may not be receptive to the concept of paving a pathway to citizenship for such a large group of undocumented immigrants, however.

“The group has never discussed a pathway to citizenship like this,” a House Freedom Caucus source said, adding that more wouldn’t be known until the conservative voting bloc convenes a conference call or meeting.

Another conservative aide balked when asked if the White House’s framework is something the broader GOP conference should embrace.

“It shouldn’t. It would be the most foolish thing Republicans could do,” the aide said. “Legalizing 1.8 million Democrat voters.”

Even so, a pair of Republican immigration who have been heavily involved in talks with the White House seemed to embrace the blueprint late Thursday.

“The president’s framework is generous and humane, while also being responsible,” Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a hawkish voice on the immigration issue, said in a statement. “But it will also prevent us from ending up back here in five years by securing the border and putting an end to extended-family chain migration.”

Georgia Sen. David Perdue suggested the framework was something “that both Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate should be eager to support.”

Despite their standing within the GOP as immigration hardliners, Cotton and Perdue expressed a level of support for the president’s immigration proposals that their Republican colleagues may not share. When asked via text message of the statements by Cotton and Perdue, a conservative aide responded by calling them “unreal,” adding a face palm emoji.

Read more….

Which of the following pathways to citizenship for Dreamers would you support? in Thomas Madison’s Hangs on LockerDome