President Trump presented a proposal to re-open the government. The proposal includes protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protective Status recipients in exchange for border wall funding.
Critics of the president’s proposal to re-open the government say it’s not a compromise, but an underhanded effort to make major changes in U.S. immigration law.
Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us a pro-immigration organization, says changes to U.S. asylum laws were quietly buried in the 1,300-page bill. “It eliminates people’s ability. If they show up at the border, they show up at a port of entry to legally apply for asylum,” Schulte said.
Chris Chmielenski of NumbersUSA, which wants to limit immigration, says the changes would make it safer for asylum seekers, especially children.
“The way that things get passed is to attach them to must-pass bills, especially must-pass spending bills,” he said. “I wouldn’t want my 15-year-old crossing through Mexico alone, with some of the drug cartels.”
The president’s bill would set a cap of 15,000 children a year who could be granted asylum.
Those from Central America would have to wait for approval in their home countries which could take years.
Minors who cross the border illegally would face harsh consequences: immediate deportation.
If the president’s bill fails Thursday, the Senate will vote on a democratic spending bill, that would re-open the government and restart negotiations on border security.
