FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 9, 2017

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Juan Gastelum, 213-375-3149
Hayley Burgess, 202-384-1279

Statement on Trump’s White Nationalist Immigration Wish List

WASHINGTON — The White House on Sunday put out a list of extreme policies it is proposing in exchange for broadly supported legislation that would provide a permanent fix for immigrant youth. The list is predictably in line with the anti-immigrant vision President Trump and his advisers have espoused since before he took office.

It includes proposals long sought by anti-immigrant extremists, including a radical ramp-up in border and interior enforcement, the elimination of protections for children fleeing extreme circumstances, a refugee cap, a severe cut to the annual number of visas, a departure from sensible policies intended to allow people from underrepresented countries to immigrate to the U.S. and to keep families together, and withholding of federal funds from jurisdictions that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.

The release comes just over a month after Trump cruelly thrust nearly 800,000 young people into uncertainty when he decided to abruptly end the hugely successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Kamal Essaheb, policy and advocacy director at the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“There is overwhelming agreement across all sectors of American society, including among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, that a permanent solution for immigrant youth is necessary and the right thing to do. Signing the bipartisan Dream Act should be simple and straightforward.

“Yet, instead of engaging with members of Congress in earnest, President Trump again is bending to extremists in his cabinet and his base. This so-called ‘principles’ list is nothing more than a white nationalist wish list. It has no place in a conversation about finding a solution for immigrant youth.

“We need Congress and the president to do the right thing for young immigrants who simply want to be recognized as the Americans they are. We need a clean Dream Act now.”

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