Senate Democrats are hoping President Trump will revive the “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform tonight when he addresses Congress.
“It’s a great starting point,” said Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the original eight sponsors of the failed bill.
White House aides have shot down claims by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that Trump said he was interested in revisiting the 2013 bill, which coupled border security with a path to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants.
The bill was backed initially by four Republicans and four Democrats, but Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., eventually withdrew his support and it was mostly criticized by Republicans. The GOP-led House never considered the measure.
Trump is expected to address immigration reform during his speech tonight and Durbin said he hopes Trump will back a revival of the failed bill.
“It’s a bipartisan bill that passed that passed the Senate and it’s one that built stronger border protections, which is part of his campaign, but it did it in a sensible way,” Durbin said.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday Trump would be talking about immigration during his address to Congress. Spicer earlier denied that Trump endorsed the Gang of Eight bill and said during the meeting with Manchin and other Senators, Trump called it “amnesty.”
