House conservative Dave Brat, R-Va., said Monday that President Trump’s immigration reform proposal broke a major campaign promise by providing a path to citizenship to Dreamers and many others.
“The White House amnesty plan may capture the wishes of the Washington establishment, but it does not represent the promises President Trump made to the American people,” Brat said in a statement. “Giving amnesty beyond DACA recipients opens us up to fraud and corruption, as those who never signed up for the program attempt to become eligible. If you ask voters in states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania that swung to Donald Trump if this amnesty plan keeps his promises, they will tell you it does not.”
Brat and other conservatives are working to round up enough votes to pass an immigration reform bill authored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.
The Goodlatte-Labrador bill would protect the Dreamers who participate in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and give them a path to citizenship. It would also end chain migration and the visa lottery system.
But Trump’s plan would provide a pathway to citizenship for up to 1.8 million people, including illegal immigrants who were not participating in the Obama-era DACA program. It would provide a 10 to 12 year pathway to citizenship.
The Trump plan would also end chain migration but only after processing millions on a current waiting list.
