The President’s top immigration adviser, Stephen Miller is working on a plan which will ask for immigration cuts, in exchange for helping beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This move threatens to blow any potential deal on DACA.
The proposal which is currently being crafted by the White House encompasses reducing the number of legal immigrants by 50 percent over the following decade. This idea was not met with approval by either party.
Last month President Donald Trump had a meeting with Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer where they discussed immigration, reportedly coming close to an agreement. However, Miller is adamant on the president taking a more rigorous approach.
If current White House plans do not change, negotiations oriented towards finding a DACA fix may come to a halt. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program enables undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as minors to obtain work permits and stay in the country.
The RAISE Act, an earlier immigration proposal by Miller was also criticized by both GOP and Democratic lawmakers when it was introduced in August. It is now speculated that the White House may demand that some of the RAISE Act provisions be included in the DACA deal. Furthermore, they may ask for the inclusion of provisions which would criminalize anyone who does not yet have a legal status, reports HuffPost.
In addition, Miller may seek to add billions in border security and immigration judges.
Trump recently announced he would terminate the DACA program, but requested Congress to give young immigrants protected by the program legal status by March 2018. It appears that Miller has different plans which could easily sink the possible deal with Democrats.
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