The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– Battle in Congress likely –
The White House plan immediately provoked the ire of Democrats, who made clear they would likely fight to water down the changes in negotiations in coming weeks.
Pro-immigration groups said it would reduce overall immigration by half, and was aimed at bringing more Caucasians into the country.
“$25 billion as ransom for Dreamers with cuts to legal immigration and increases to deportations doesn’t pass the laugh test,” said Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez.
“The White House released a hateful, xenophobic immigration proposal that would slash legal immigration to levels not seen since the racial quotas of the 1920s,” said Lorella Praeli, director of immigration policy at the American Civil Liberties Union.
But Republican leaders in Congress voiced solid support: Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the White House proposal was a “framework” for crafting a final immigration deal.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton, a hardline conservative, called Trump’s framework “generous and humane, while also being responsible.”
However, some conservatives were angered by the sweeping offer to Dreamers, which they say constitutes an amnesty that rewards law-breakers and sets a bad precedent for other undocumented immigrants.
“Any proposal that expands the amnesty-eligible population risks opening Pandora’s box,” said Michael Needham, chief executive of the right-wing lobby Heritage Action.
“That should be a non-starter,” he said.
