Before President Trump’s “shithole countries” comments leaked, so did the details of a bipartisan immigration fix that would codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era deportation protections that are set to end on March 5.
Immigration hawks weren’t happy.
“Some of our colleagues have floated a potential plan that, simply put, isn’t serious,” said Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and David Perdue, R-Ga., in a joint statement Thursday night. “It is disingenuous to discuss providing status to, potentially, millions of individuals without taking credible steps to truly protect our borders and secure the interior.”
The trio concluded, “Any deal that does not address the four pillars we have reiterated — ending chain migration, eliminating the outdated visa lottery, increasing border security and solving the DACA situation — is no deal at all.”
Yet members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus were cool to changes to visa lottery program. Some in the Congressional Black Caucus, noting that over 40 percent of those admitted through the program come from Africa, were outright opposed.
Get the Exclusive
01.23.2025