09/29/2017

Senate Republicans Unveil New ‘Dreamers’ Bill

The bill would essentially create a 15-year path to citizenship

Two Republican senators this week introduced a bill that would potentially offer thousands of young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers a path to citizenship.

The bill, known as the SUCCEED Act, would essentially create a 15-year path to citizenship for young people brought to the U.S. illegally as minors. However, the bill would also bar Dreamers who obtain green cards from sponsoring family members. Current law allows green card holders to petition for close relatives such as a spouse or children to obtain permanent residency, but immigration hawks have criticized this practice as “chain migration.”

Congress is attempting to come up with a permanent solution for Dreamers after President Donald Trump announced earlier this month that he will end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which offers protection to roughly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. If Congress fails to act by March 5, 2018, those Dreamers would lose jobs they currently hold and be vulnerable to deportation.

The sponsors of the SUCCEED Act, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK), said their plan is more palatable to many Republicans than the bipartisan DREAM Act, which would grant permanent legal status – and eventually citizenship – to qualified immigrants.

“The people who are moving through the green card process are people who’ve gone through the process legally over a period of time,” Tillis said. “This is a special group of people that we want to provide a solution to, but not necessarily let them expedite the potential admission of other persons.”

Democratic leaders say Trump has agreed to support the DREAM Act if it is paired with additional border security provisions. While House Democrats have been trying to force a floor vote on the DREAM Act, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said this week that Republicans will not set up a vote until there is agreement on language that significantly boosts border security.

“The president has challenged this Congress to find a solution, and I believe we can,” McCarthy said.

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.