Last night during his Fox News town hall Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) said that they are not planning on adding any DACA legislation to the upcoming omnibus spending bill. Speaker Ryan emphasized that they would do that “separately” from other major legislation.
On Thursday, a group of 14 House Republicans held a news conference urging Speaker Ryan to pass an amnesty for DACA recipients. The group wants immediate action instead of waiting closer to the March deadline set by Pres. Trump.
Pres. Trump met with several Republican Senators today and told them not to add any DACA legislation to the must pass spending bill this year. Some Democrats have said they would be willing to face a government shutdown to include amnesty for Dreamers in the omnibus spending bill.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on several topics including immigration. Sessions defended the DOJ’s ability to limit federal grants to sanctuary cities and said that DACA recipients should not be given amnesty in exchange for just border security.
After reaching a 17- year low in April border apprehensions have made a 60% increase over the summer, in opposition to historic trends that usually see a reduction in the late summer months. This increase comes as talks about granting amnesty for Dreamers has made national headlines.
Twenty million of the total 33 million legal immigrants admitted to the United States between 1981 and 2016 were admitted through the chain migration categories, according to analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies. According to CIS, a legal immigrant admitted to the United States sponsored an average of 3.45 family members for green cards.
The Tillis-Lankford SUCCEED Act is pretty much an amnesty-business-as-usual bill that rewards past lawbreaking without reducing the lawbreaking in the future.
According to the Pew Research Center’s analysis of USCIS’ latest report, 71% of those who have received the DACA amnesty are 21 years of age or older. This means that most of the “Dreamers” are adults who are currently competing with American workers for jobs.
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.), James Lankford (Okla.), and Orrin Hatch (Utah) introduced the Succeed Act, which would grant amnesty to millions of young illegal aliens. While the Senators claim the bill addresses Pres. Trump's concern with chain migration, it would only prevent the amnestied illegal aliens from sponsoring family members while they hold conditional legal permanent residence.
A new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report shows that between April 1 and June 31, 102,568 DACA applications were approved. This is a slight decrease from the second quarter when 124,799 applications were approved.
Last night Pres. Trump met with Senate and House Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to discuss DACA and border security issues. NumberUSA has released the statement below about this meeting.
Statement by Rosemary Jenks, Director of Government Relations, NumbersUSA:
NumbersUSA President, Roy Beck, wrote an op-ed that was published on The Hill’s website today on what caused the DACA dilemma and how another amnesty will only increase, not end, this problem.
During an interview with CBS This Morning, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) called for the passage of his RAISE Act legislation that would end chain migration and the visa lottery and transform the existing employment-based system to a merit-based one. Sen. Cotton was brought on to discuss his reaction to Pres. Trump ending the DACA executive amnesty.
In a statement issued after the administration announced it was rescinding the DACA executive amnesty, Pres. Trump said, "Congress now has the opportunity to advance responsible immigration reform that puts American jobs and American security first."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced on Monday that the Trump administration is rescinding the unconstitutional executive amnesty that granted deferred action and work permits to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens living in the United States. Former Pres. Obama began the amnesty in 2012, and Pres. Trump pledged to end it while running for President.
The Evangelicals for Biblical Immigration (EBI) sent a letter to Pres. Trump and GOP leadership advising them that they believe the Bible does not support open border ideals or should be used to support amnesty programs such as DACA. This letter comes as the Trump administration is finalizing their plan to end Pres. Obama’s unconstitutional executive amnesty.
Nearly 40,000 DACA amnesty recipients have received green cards since the program began in 2012, according to new data sent to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Sen. Grassley requested the data from the Trump administration earlier this week after his request for the same data from the Obama administration was insufficiently answered.
Candidate Trump promised to end the illegal and unconstitutional DACA program on "day one" of his Administration. He failed to keep that promise. There is talk in Congress of a new version of the DREAM Act to reward DACA recipients a formal amnesty. The President must decide where lie his priorities. With the American people and the U.S. Constitution, or with the D.C. special interests who are cynically attempting to play to people's sympathies in order to prevent genuine reform of the immigration system?
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office said yesterday that Texas and the nine other states will not delay the Sept. 5 deadline for Pres. Trump to end DACA. If the administration continues to issue work permits under DACA the 10 states will amend their current DAPA case to include DACA.
Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) is working with several House Republicans to strip Rep. Pete Aguilar’s (D-Calif.) amendment that would allow illegal aliens who receive the unconstitutional DACA executive amnesty to compete with American workers for jobs with the federal government. The amendment was passed by a voice vote as part of the FY18 Financial Services and General Government spending bill.
Here is a list of all of the House Representatives on the Appropriations Committee who claim to have voted against the Pete Aguilar amendment that would make DACA recipients eligible for federal jobs. The amendment was passed by a voice vote and therefore not recorded. Some committee members were reported to have appealed for a recorded vote by Chairman Frelinghuysen who denied them.
Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.):
The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment late Thursday night that would allow illegal aliens who receive the unconstitutional DACA executive amnesty to compete with American workers for jobs with the federal government. The amendment, offered by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), was part of the FY18 Financial Services and General Government spending bill and was passed by a voice vote.
At a meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus DHS Sec. John Kelly reportedly said he can’t promise that the Administration will defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program if challenged in court. 10 states are threatening to include DACA in a pending lawsuit if the Administration does not begin to phase out the program by September 5th.
Ten states have asked to Trump Administration to end the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program by September 5th, and to refrain from renewing or issuing new DACA permits. Failure to do so will prompt the states to amend a case challenging the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and extended DACA programs to include the original DACA program.
DHS Secretary John Kelly partially fulfilled one of President Trump's key campaign promises on Thursday night when he rescinded the DAPA amnesty. The illegal and unconstitutional executive amnesty issued by former President Barack Obama would have granted an estimated 5 million work permits to illegal aliens who were the parents of U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents.
A new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report shows that between January 1 and March 31, 124,799 DACA applications were approved, giving work permits and protection from deportation to illegal aliens. Out of these, an estimated 98,000 received their approval after Pres. Trump took office on January 20, 2017, despite his campaign promise to end the program on his first day in office.
The Washington Examiner is reporting that after meeting with the Trump administration Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.) told reporters that Pres. Trump would “absolutely not” end Pres. Obama’s DACA amnesty. Ending the program was a campaign promise of Pres. Trump's, and his campaign website pledged to end the executive amnesty "immediately".
Today Pres. Trump signed two executive orders that authorize the immediate construction of a wall on the southern border, stops federal funding to sanctuary jurisdictions and ends the catch and release policy.
The Hill -- Ben Kamsiar
The open-ended language is stirring alarm among immigration hawks, who are looking to Trump to enact long-awaited policy changes.
NumbersUSA, a group that supports lowering immigration levels, called on its members to launch a social media campaign demanding that Trump follow through on his campaign promise.
Breitbart News -- John Binder
Here’s an oldie but a goodie from Numbers USA on President Bill Clinton’s immigration rhetoric from is 1995 SOTU speech (61 million views and counting!):
Immigration hawks and President Donald Trump supporters have taken to social media to pressure the White House to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The Washington Post -- Antonio Olivo
Numbers USA, a group advocating the reduction of all forms of immigration, launched a Twitter campaign this week lobbying Trump to “rescind unconstitutional DACA executive action.”
We've been contacted the last 24 hours about whether Pres. Trump is breaking his very clear campaign promise that he would end Pres. Obama's executive temporary amnesty called DACA (for illegal aliens who arrived here as children).
The new Trump Administration has yet to take action on one of former Pres. Obama's most famous immigration actions, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), according to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Ending the program was a campaign promise of Pres. Trump's, and his campaign website pledged to end the executive amnesty "immediately".
President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that his administration will work towards a legal immigration system where new immigrants are chosen based on their skills rather than the current system that heavily favors extended family members. Trump said his administration would release the details of a plan that could possibly include protections for the roughly 1 million illegal aliens who benefited from Pres. Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
During a CNN town hall meeting yesterday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said he agreed with President-elect Trump’s policies on securing the border, deporting criminal aliens, and defunding sanctuary cities. Ryan also said he wants to find a “good, humane solution” for illegal aliens participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced his Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act (H.R. 391) yesterday, which would narrow the “credible fear” standards that illegal aliens must meet in order to make an asylum claim. Rep. Chaffetz first introduced this bill in 2015 as a response to the surge of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) at the southern border.
Senate and House Judiciary Committee Chairmen Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., slammed the Obama Administration’s management of the U visa program following findings of fraud and a new parole policy that exceeds its authority. The U visa program allows foreign nationals who are victims or witnesses of crime in the United States to remain here while assisting in the crime’s investigation and prosecution. But the Administration allowed fraudulent applications to be processed and exceeded the numerical program limits Congress set.
The leaders of local-government “sanctuaries” asked President Obama to further shield illegal aliens before leaving office. Working under a group New York Mayor Bill de Blasio created, Cities for Action, the leaders asked Obama to front-load work permit extensions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, and to extend Temporary Protected Status for illegal aliens residing in the United States.
There has been an increase in the number of DACA recipients who are seeking to leave the U.S. under advance parole in order to legally re-enter the U.S. and get on the fast track to citizenship.
The Washington Times reports White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Munoz told amnesty advocates that President Obama will not pardon illegal aliens prior to leaving office. She said a pardon does not apply to immigration cases and is not a permanent solution.
The Obama Administration is seeking to stay proceedings in the executive amnesty court case until February 2017, thus giving the Trump Administration time to take over. Obama had sought to block a temporary injunction placed on his Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program and extended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which would have allowed him to implement the amnesties before leaving office.
According to the Pew Research Center’s new report, based on U.S. Census data, 8 million illegal aliens are currently working in the U.S. The report shows that number has not significantly changed since increasing in 2009 as the U.S. economy began to recover from the Great Recession.
The Supreme Court has denied the Obama administration’s petition to rehear the DAPA case after a new Supreme Court justice is confirmed. This decision upholds the lower court’s injunction against Pres. Obama’s DAPA and extended DACA amnesties.
During Wednesday’s Commander-in-Chief Forum Donald Trump said that he is open to granting amnesty to illegal aliens who plan on joining the military or are currently serving in the U.S. military. Trump said that this would be a “very special circumstance” and they would have to be carefully vetted but could be granted legal status.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is proposing a rule that relies on the agency’s parole authority to give foreign nationals temporary permission to be in the United States to “start or scale their businesses.” Current law allows USCIS to use parole authority in dire, individual humanitarian cases, not to benefit broad categories of beneficiaries. As such the proposal, like the court-blocked DAPA/extended DACA amnesty, directly challenges the limits of agency discretion under immigration law.
An illegal alien eligible for Pres. Obama's DAPA executive amnesty has filed a lawsuit challenging the scope of Judge Andrew Hanen’s injunction, preventing the program's rollout. The lawsuit claims that since the Supreme Court did not reach a decision on the case no national precedent was set and that the DAPA injunction should only apply to the 26 states involved in the original DAPA lawsuit.
Yesterday the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) released a statement saying that Clinton’s immigration plan is extreme and puts Americans at risk. Hillary Clinton has pledged to expand Pres. Obama’s amnesty in her first 100 days in office.
USCIS confirmed that 2,994 DACA recipients have been approved for “adjustment of status” allowing them to receive green cards through the advanced parole program. The admission came in response to a letter from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) earlier this year. The letter also states that 22,340 DACA individuals have been approved for the parole program as of December 31, 2015 and 5,068 of those have also applied for adjustment of status.
The Obama administration has asked the Supreme Court to rehear the DAPA case after a new Supreme Court Justice is confirmed in response of the 4-4 tie they announced last month. The tie affirmed the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that temporarily blocks implementation of President Obama's DAPA and extended DACA amnesties but leaves no permanent federal ruling on the case.
Yesterday Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced The Military Amnesty Prevention Act (H.R. 5710), which would prohibit DACA recipients and other illegal aliens from enlisting in the Armed Forces. This bill is similar to the NDAA appropriations amendment that Reps. Gosar, Steve King (R-Iowa), and Pete Sessions (R-Texas) pushed for last week that was narrowly defeated 210-211.
