Washington, D.C. – Tonight, the White House released a set of immigration principles to guide future legislative action on immigration. In response to this announcement Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, which builds moderate and center-right support for immigrants and immigration reform, issued the following statement:
“Congressional Republicans have already put in serious work to find a workable solution to ensure that Dreamers are protected, the border is secured – with no shock to the economy. This is why key conservative allies including the business, faith and law enforcement communities are united in support of commonsense proposals that reflect where the majority of Americans stand on the issue. While they remain subject to Congressional interpretation, the principles released tonight undermine our nation’s values, weaken our economy and make us less safe.
“If these principles were to find their way into law, for example, young people fleeing violence would be returned to the cartels they flee, our agricultural sector would be decimated by mandatory E-verify, our economy would be torpedoed by a massive decrease in legal immigration, and local law enforcement’s ability to protect the public would be undermined. And this would be just the beginning.
“President Trump and Congress have victory within their grasp. They can protect Dreamers, enact smart border enforcement policies and move the nation forward. Allowing extreme factions within the administration to undermine the president’s solid word of commitment to Dreamers would put an end to the most passable immigration reform proposal we’ve seen come out of Congress in decades.”