Mitch McConnell is a senior Republican United States Senator from Kentucky. He spoke with the media and expressed his desire for both political parties to strike a deal that would allow the 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program beneficiaries to remain in the country.
CHAIN MIGRATION must end now! Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil. NOT ACCEPTABLE! pic.twitter.com/PQGeTTdRtX
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
The compromise would be in exchange for measures on border security – like Donald Trump’s dream wall – or to end chain migration. Chain migration is an aggressive term that garnered popularity among GOP members of the current administration and that refers to the ability of current U.S. residents to bring family members in from other countries.
McConnell said in an interview Saturday with Hugh Hewitt from MSNBC that there is room for more compromise on the issue:
“Yeah I think so, the Democrats desperately want DACA. Republicans are not necessarily opposed to that,” said the Senator. “The president has set it up in such a way that we have an incentive to act here because he’s given us six months to come up with a proposal.”
“I think there ought to be something relate to making the American legal immigration system better, achieved along with DACA,” McConnell continued. “It could be border security, it could be chain migration, it could be the diversity quotas, but something that tangibly improves the legal immigration system in this country ought to be attached to DACA.”
No Amnesty – @POTUS rejects adding DACA to year-end spending bill. Join #Dobbs NOW on FBN #MAGA #TrumpTrain
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) November 2, 2017
Last Thursday, President Trump reminded a group of Republican senators that he doesn’t plan for the DACA fix to be part of the year-end spending deal, since the current one will expire on December 8th. Senator John Cornyn of Texas – the number 2 ranking Senate Republican – said we would have to wait until February for a possible fix. McConnell, on the other hand, didn’t provide a deadline for the deal.
With the latest terror attack in New York on Tuesday, that tallied eight casualties, including six foreigners and another 12 injured individuals, could make immigration discussions get a little heated between both parties. President Trump was outspoken about his stance during the attack and said he ordered his administration to “step up our already extreme vetting program.”
I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 1, 2017
“The president’s been talking about improving our vetting for some time. You’ve got to look at a guy like this and say, ‘How’d he [Sayfullo Saipov] get here in the first place?'” McConnell said about the terrorist responsible for last week’s attack. “And so I do think it’s worth taking a look at.”
Trump must make good on his promise to sign a bill protecting Dreamers. I won't vote for any spending bill without a permanent DACA fix.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 3, 2017
Article inspired by Washington Examiner // Mitch McConnell expects bipartisan DACA-legal immigration deal