Republican senators announced plans on Friday to introduce legislation that would create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, allocate $25 billion for border security, and make reforms the nation’s immigration system.
The Secure and Succeed Act would establish a path to naturalization for 1.8 million people who are enrolled in or eligible for the Deferred Access for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The measure would also appropriate $25 billion for physical and virtual border fencing, and support additional border security personnel.
U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AK), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), David Perdue (R-GA) and James Lankford (R-OK) announced the forthcoming legislation on Friday.
“This is the only bill that has a chance of becoming law, and that’s because it’s the only bill that will truly solve the underlying problem,” Cotton said. “It will protect those eligible for DACA but also make sure we don’t end up back here five years from now. By addressing our border security needs and limiting family sponsorship to the nuclear family, it goes far beyond the other half-measures that have been proposed. This bill is generous, humane and responsible, and now we should send it to the president’s desk.”
The bill would also limit family-based immigration to the nuclear family, although pending visa applications would be grandfathered into the current system. Additionally, the bill would end the diversity visa lottery and reallocate those visas to employment-based visa programs.
“We must ensure a path forward for those who were brought here through no fault of their own as children, while also enforcing our laws, putting an end to illegal immigration, and strengthening our border security,” Ernst said. “This framework is a step toward addressing the legal, economic and security concerns that are present in the current debate and the unique challenges that the DACA-eligible population faces, and I urge my colleagues to support this proposal.”