Immigration Reform News 2017: Doubts Surround U.S. President Donald Trump's Immigration Talk
United States President Donald Trump said that immigration reform can be achieved should the Republicans and Democrats find the middle ground.
"I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible," he said to the Congress last week. It is definitely a change of tune considering how adamant Trump has been in cracking down on undocumented immigrants.
"I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades," he went on to say.
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Trump said he is open to legalizing undocumented immigrants or at least giving them the opportunity to eventually become a citizen, a clear shift in perspective following his firm stance to do otherwise.
Trump's idea of immigration reform, however, involves employing a merit-based system that will prove unfortunate for those considered as "lower-skilled" immigrants as skills will be prioritized rather than family connection.
Not everyone is convinced of Trump's change of heart toward an immigration reform policy. Rep. Luis Gutiérrez said via Politico that the president should provide evidence if he really is serious about it.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, on the other hand, does not count on Trump acting on passing a comprehensive immigration reform bill anytime soon.
"It was so funny he spoke to a bunch of cosmopolitan news anchors and mentioned maybe he will change his views on immigration and the media got into a buzz about that," he said.
"The speech he gave was one of the most anti-immigrant speeches that we heard any president ever give," he said, adding that it is the implementation that counts.
Immigrant rights group are not swayed by Trump's words as well, especially his quick 180 on the matter. "His whole worldview is just crushing the lives of immigrants," Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of America's Voice, a liberal group fighting for immigration reform.
"So the idea that there would be some compromise on legislation with him, it's just so far from where we are today," she went on to say via Politico, emphasizing how flawed Trump's immigration reform is.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the other hand, believes the enactment of an immigration reform bill relies on Trump's willingness "to embrace a logical solution for the 11 million that allows legal status, a pathway to citizenship for some, after they pass criminal background checks, requirements to learn English and pay a fine."
