White House proposes new path to citizenship for 1.8 million people

World Today

(FILES) This file photo taken on January 9, 2018 shows US President Donald Trump (C) and US Senator Dick Durbin (L), D-Illinios, listen as US Congressman Steny Hoyer (R), D-Maryland speaks during a meeting with bipartisan members of the Senate on immigration at the White House in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON

U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to put forward a plan to overhaul the country’s immigration system, in an effort the White House is calling a compromise to appeal to both sides of the political spectrum. Although, Trump may find the plan unacceptable to some conservatives and Democrats.

Under Trump’s new proposal to Congress, 1.8 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. when they were children (sometimes called “Dreamers”) would be given a chance of citizenship. The plan would see these undocumented immigrants on a “10-12 year path to citizenship,” the White House statement said.

The administration would seek $25 billion for border security as part of the overhaul, and legal immigration would be even more restricted, tool needed to “mitigate the rapidly growing surge of illegal immigration.” The White House said in a statement.

The new plan would also see an end to so-called “extended-family chain migration” limiting sponsorships of visas for immigrants families to spouses and minor children.

The new deal floated Thursday comes less than a week after a shutdown of the federal government, a battle between Democrats and Republicans that centered on immigration.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (known as “DACA”) was enacted by former President Barack Obama to help those who were brought to the U.S. as children. Trump terminated the program in 2017, but said he wanted to see the Congress come up with a way to take care of those under the plan. DACA currently covers around 700,000 young undocumented immigrants. The White House said Thursday it would broaden the program to include those who were eligible but never signed up, bringing the total to an estimated 1.8 million people. The White House called this a “dramatic concession.”

And in return, Trump will demand a so-called “trust fund” of $25 billion to help build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico and upgrades along the northern border. The White House will also demand an end to the “diversity visa lottery.”