Trump Touts Immigration ‘Framework’ At Republican Retreat; Says Dems May Not Be ‘Looking To Approve Anything At All’

On Thursday, President Trump gave a speech to Republican lawmakers attending a retreat. During his remarks, the president touted his immigration framework, which has been called the “four pillars” plan, and maintained that it’s the Democrats who are obstructing immigration reform:

But DACA – we wanna take care of DACA, and I hope we will. We need the support of the Democrats in order to do it, and they might not want to do it. They talk like they do, but I don’t think they do – but we’re gonna find out very soon.

We want something that is very, very tough and strong in terms of the border. We need to end chain migration and we need to cancel the terrible visa lottery. And those are the four pillars that I talked about the other night – we call them the White House framework – a plan that will finally bring our immigration system into the 21st century. The Republican position on immigration is the center, mainstream view of the American people, with some extra strength at the border and security at the border added in. What we’re asking for and what the American people are pleading for is sanity and common sense in our immigration system.

We want immigration rules that protect our communities, defend our security, and admit people who will love our country and contribute to our society. I know that the senate is planning to bring an immigration bill to the floor [in] coming weeks, and I’m asking that the framework we submitted with great flexibility, great flexibility, working with both parties, that something very positive will come out of it for our country, for everybody … and I think that can happen.

If the Democrats choose to filibuster a framework that includes a generous path to citizenship or something that is not fair, we are not going to approve it – we’re just not going to approve it.

So we’ll either have something that’s fair and equitable and good and secure, or we’re gonna have nothing at all. And this has been going on for many years. It doesn’t make sense, however, to have nothing at all because this is something that people want. So we will be demonstrating that we are very, very serious. One of the reasons I gave a number that was, I thought, a very generous number, was because I wanted to see whether or not they were interested in approving [that] because if they don’t approve something within that sphere, that means, very simply, that they’re not looking to approve anything at all. They want to use it for an election issue, but it’s now an election issue that will go to our benefit, not their benefit.

The so-called “four pillars” of the White House Framework are:

• A pathway to citizenship for approximately 1.8 million DREAMers (illegal immigrants who were brought the United States as children).

• $25 billion for border security measures, including a physical wall.

• Ending chain migration as it stands now. Currently, immigrants can sponsor extended family members to legally come to the United States, but Trump’s proposal would curb that to immediate family only. “New citizens would be able to sponsor their immediate families — spouses and children — to legally enter the country, but other relatives, such as parents and siblings, would be excluded,” reports Politico.

• Ending the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which, according to CNN, “awards up to 50,000 individuals per year a visa for a green card, which bestows permanent residency in the US and is a path to citizenship.” The program, which was introduced in its current form in the Immigration Act of 1990, randomly selects immigrants from a variety of countries where immigration to the United States is considered low. CNN notes that “while individuals are selected for visas randomly, they still must meet security and eligibility requirements that all immigrants must clear to actually get their visas.”

A fact sheet from the White House website adds detail to the broader “four pillars” policy. According to the sheet, the plan would end catch-and-release, “ensure the detention and removal of criminal aliens, gang members, violent offenders, and aggravated felons,” set up “immigration court reforms to improve efficiency and prevent fraud and abuse,” and “deter visa overstays with efficient removal.”

Part of the $25 billion trust would fund the hiring of “new DHS personnel, ICE attorneys, immigration judges, prosecutors and other law enforcement professionals.”

The end to chain migration would be prospective, meaning that anyone on the list prior to the program’s restructuring wouldn’t be affected. Additionally, the DACA recipients would move through a “10-12 year path to citizenship, with requirements for work, education and good moral character.”