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A group of Republican senators will introduce legislation Monday would put about 1.8 million illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children by their parents on a path toward citizenship while spending $25 billion on border security.
Sens. Chuck Grassley, James Lankford, Joni Ernst, Tom Cotton, John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and David Perdue are co-sponsoring the Secure and Succeed Act. The legislation follows a framework laid out by the White House for a deal on the people covered by, and eligible for, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.
“This legislation is a reasonable approach to shielding children illegally brought to our country through no fault of their own while also taking the meaningful steps to ensure nobody finds themselves in the same situation in the future,” Grassley said in a statement. “This is a rare opportunity to fix a real problem and protect the country in a thoughtful and compassionate way.”
The bill limits chain migration, called family-based immigration by Democrats, to just the nuclear family. Reforms to the chain migration process has become a major tipping point in the debate over immigration reform.
The legislation also closes loopholes the senators say allow criminals to enter the country illegally. It would also “reallocate” the diversity immigration lottery, which would reduce the backlog of people awaiting visas based on chain migration and employer-backed visas.
“President Trump has been very clear on what he will sign into law, and this is it. This is a great deal and the only solution that fully addresses the four pillars in the President’s framework,” Perdue said.