Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) are expected to introduce a bill Monday that would provide a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recently nixed by the Trump administration, McClatchy reported Monday morning.
The bill would require “extreme vetting,” a vague term often used by President Donald Trump, for those young undocumented immigrants seeking a path to citizenship. Former DACA recipients would have to go through several rounds of background and security checks, as well as pass a medical exam, according to talking points on the bill obtained by McClatchy.
The bill’s authors are expected to pitch the bill as a compromise between “amnesty” and “mass deportation,” arguing that a “merit-based” system would allow certain young undocumented immigrants to stay in the country while still keeping out anyone with a criminal history.
The forthcoming legislation would not let undocumented immigrants who hold a green card apply to bring family members over to the U.S. as permanent residents, as green card holders are able to do under current law, Politico reported later Monday. Under the bill proposed by Tillis and Lankford, DACA recipients would have to wait until they are citizens to petition for family members to join them in the U.S
Only those who have been in the U.S. since June 15, 2012, when the DACA program started, would be allowed to apply for legal status under the bill, per Politico. Applicants would also need a high school diploma to apply, and then would need to either attend college, serve in the military or hold a steady job in order to maintain legal status.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced earlier this month that the administration would end DACA in six months and urge Congress to offer a legislative fix in the meantime. Trump himself has said that he wants Congress to pass legislation restoring DACA’s protections, but has insisted he does not support “amnesty.”
This post has been updated.
Even if this bill gets a vote in the Senate, it’s dead in the House. These are seriously hateful racist people. Let’s stop pretending otherwise.
Wanna bet this is especially for the military?
I was gonna say how fucking Magnanimous of you white boys
"Don’t you two understand? Next thing you know, they’ll be in San Diego!!!
None dare call it treason!!!
(Are three exclamation points plagiarism?)
Senators don’t have the luxury of gerrymandered districts, so somebody’s starting to get worried about blowback.
Good. It’s about time.