Trump Plans to Sign Amnesty Granting Young Illegal Immigrants Legitimate Citizenship
U.S. President Donald Trump plans on signing an amnesty for young illegal immigrants, granting them the right to become legitimate citizens of the country. This was revealed by the Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 3, who added that Trump would like to start working with the Congress for a resolution.
Assistant Secretary for border, immigration, and trade policy Michael Dougherty said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, "Under a rational bill, these individuals would be able to become lawful permanent residents with a pathway to citizenship."
While Dougherty's statement revealed Trump's major turnabout since the campaign period when it comes to immigration issues, he did not provide any details about the security measures, border-wall improvements or immigration reforms that would be packaged to come up with such an amnesty, which is expected to cover around 3.3 million out of the 12 million illegal residents currently in the U.S.
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According to Dougherty, Trump believes that the young illegal residents should now be allowed to stay — a reflection of his sudden change of policy since the electoral campaign, when he said he would send all illegal residents — old and young alike — homewards.
The administration officials present at the hearing said they have yet to come up with a strategic plan for immigration reform, which they started preparing following the failed meeting last Sept. 13 in the White House, when the Democrats suddenly appeared and claimed that the U.S. president had promised a no-wall amnesty for all the 3.3 million young illegal residents in the country.
Meanwhile, Trump met some key Republicans Monday night at the White House to give them some insights into the slight changes in his immigration policies. Following the said meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Trump should be clear and public if he's going to change any of his original immigration plans.
"If they're backing off on that we ought to know. That was not said... if they're backing off of it because of pressure from the far right, America ought to know and we ought to know," Schumer said.
