
Rep. Jayapal, Dem Leaders Deliver Facts on Trump’s Immigration Proposal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Led by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, members of Congress released a thorough document outlining the facts about Donald Trump’s immigration proposal to combat the President’s misinformation campaign.
The document has been prepared by Reps. Pramila Jayapal—First Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Immigration Taskforce, and the co-chair of the Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform—Judy Chu (CAPAC Chair), Raúl Grijalva (CPC Co-Chair), Michelle Lujan Grisham (CHC Chair), Mark Pocan (CPC Co-Chair), Cedric Richmond (CBC Chair) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (Women’s Working Group on Immigration Reform Co-Chair).
Read the full document below:
We reiterate our steadfast opposition to the White House immigration proposal. President Donald Trump created this crisis for Dreamers by rescinding DACA. Now he’s using them to enact sweeping changes to our legal immigration system.
Trump’s proposal falsely re-classifies family reunification as “chain migration” and attempts to end family-based immigration, a cornerstone of American immigration policy.
Trump’s proposal is anti-family, anti-women and children, and bad for our economy.
Trump’s proposal misstates the intentions and facts of the Diversity Visa Program.
Trump’s proposal is an assault on immigrant communities of color, and prioritizes immigration only from certain countries.
Trump’s proposal strips protections for refugee children and asylum seekers.
Migration has reached net zero. It makes little sense to commit $25 billion in taxpayer dollars to border enforcement and a wall without understanding where there may be gaps.
Trump’s immigration proposal undermines bipartisan attempts to advance comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the needs of our economy, families and communities.
[i] Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna & Anthony Salvanto, Most Americans Support DACA, but Oppose Border Wall, CBS News (Jan. 20, 2018) available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-support-daca-but-oppose-border-wall-cbs-news-poll.
[ii] David Bier & Stuart Anderson, White House Plan Bans 22 Million Legal Immigrants over 5 Decades, CATO Institute (Jan. 29, 2018) available at: https://www.cato.org/blog/white-house-plan-bans-22-million-legal-immigrants-over-5-decades.
[iii] United We Dream, Immigrant Youth to Trump’s White Supremacist Proposal: “No.” (Jan. 28, 2018) available at:https://unitedwedream.org/2018/01/immigrant-youth-trumps-white-supremacist-proposal-no.
[iv] Jie Zong & Jeanne Batalova, Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States, Migration Policy Institute (Mar. 8, 2017) available at: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#VisaBacklogs.
[v] American Immigration Lawyers Association, The Value of Family-Based Immigration (Jan. 8, 2018) available at:http://www.aila.org/infonet/aila-policy-brief-the-value-of-family-based-immig.
[vi] We Belong Together, Immigration Reform is Central to Women’s Equality: A Factsheet (accessed Jan. 31, 2018) available at:https://webelongtogether.org/sites/default/files/WBTWomenAndImmigrationFactsheet.pdf.
[vii] Seung Min Kim, Republicans Balk at Trump’s Cuts to Legal Immigration, Politico (Jan. 30, 2018) available at:https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/trump-legal-immigration-republicans-378041.
[viii] Dep’t of State, Visa Bulletin for February 2018, available at: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-february-2018.html.
[ix] American Immigration Council, The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program: An Overview (Nov. 13, 2017) available at:https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/diversity-immigrant-visa-program-overview.
[x] David Bier, Family & Diversity Immigrants Are Far Better Educated Than U.S.-Born Americans, CATO INSTITUTE, (Jan. 25, 2018) available at: https://www.cato.org/blog/family-diversity-immigrants-are-far-better-educated-us-born-americans.
[xi] Dep’t of State, Table III: Immigrant Visas Issued (by Foreign State of Chargeability or Place of Birth) Fiscal Year 2016, available at: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2016AnnualReport/FY16AnnualReport-TableIII.pdf.
[xii] Figures based on “Immigrants Visas Issued (by Foreign State of Chargeability or Place of Birth) Fiscal Year 2015,” U.S. Dep’t of State, available at:https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2015AnnualReport/FY15AnnualReport-TableIII.pdf.
[xiii] American Immigration Council, supra n. 9.
[xiv] Migration Policy Institute, supra n. 4.
[xv] On December 10, 2008, H.R. 7311 passed the U.S. House of Representatives without objection and by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate.
[xvi] William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, H.R. 7311, P.L. 110-457, 110th Cong. (Dec. 2008).
[xvii] Tal Kopan, U.S.-Mexico border apprehensions hit 17-year lows, CNN (May 9, 2017) available at:https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politics/border-crossings-apprehensions-down-trump/index.html.
[xviii] American Immigration Council, The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security (Jan 25, 2017) available at:https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/the_cost_of_immigration_enforcement_and_border_security.pdf.
[xix] Dep’t of Homeland Security, Efforts by DHS to Estimate Southwest Border Security between Ports of Entry (Sep. 2017) available at: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0914_estimates-of-border-security.pdf.
Issues: Immigration