GOP Senator Tom Cotton, a long-time opponent of immigrants and immigration, said that Trump had agreed with senators in a meeting on Thursday that the DREAM Act would have to wait until next year. Cotton and other immigration opponents also said that any deal would have to end what they call “chain migration.” That’s their new name and frame for what we have known for decades as family reunification. Now the part of family values says immigrant families are different, and they should not be allowed to reunite. Sending for Grandma or for your younger brother is called “chain migration,” and Trump and the GOP hardliners want to make that illegal.
Trump, GOP senators: No DACA in spending bill (The Hill, 11/2/17)
“Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cotton and Tillis, who are a part of the talks and attended Thursday’s meeting, each said separately that an immigration deal would need to include tougher border security measures and a crackdown on ‘chain migration.’
“The decision, if Republicans stick to the deal, would set up an end-of-the-year showdown with Democrats.
“Democrats are warning they will demand a DACA fix either before or as part of the December government funding bill.”
GOP senators say fate of ‘dreamers’ must wait for next year (PBS, 11/2/17)
“President Donald Trump and Republican senators agreed not to deal with a needed fix for young immigrants in must-pass year-end spending legislation, according to some GOP lawmakers who visited the White House on Thursday.
“Instead, they said, a solution would likely wait until next year for some 800,000 immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children. …
“Democrats have indicated they want to use a year-end spending bill to force action on Dreamers. Their votes will likely be needed to pass spending legislation to keep the government running, so the Trump-GOP stance may not end up prevailing.”
And in other news
Races For Governor Put Trump’s Immigration Message On The Ballot (NPR, 11/2/17)
“In the two states electing new governors this year — New Jersey and Virginia — once-moderate Republicans are running attack ads painting their Democratic opponents as weak on illegal immigration.
“The ads are a move out of the political playbook of President Trump, who began his bid for the White House by attacking Mexican immigrants.”
The Facts on America’s Immigrant and Visitor Vetting System (The Brennan Center, 11/1/17) This is a press release referring back to an October 2 report on Extreme Vetting and the Muslim Ban.
“The U.S. visa vetting system is one of the world’s toughest. Applicants’ biographic data, photographs, and fingerprints are collected and screened against a range of national security databases that contain millions of entries and include classified information from federal, state, local, and foreign governments. Applicants must provide voluminous documentation to verify their identities and backgrounds. Immigrant visa applicants – those applying to stay permanently in the U.S. – are generally subject to more scrutiny than temporary visa applicants, including a medical examination and other screenings.
“Though terrorist attacks committed by foreign-born persons are statistically very rare, the Department of Homeland Security has found that such cases often involve people who developed violent inclinations years after their entry into the U.S., meaning increased visa vetting would not have been useful. In fact, decades of counterterrorism research has not been able to confirm traits that could be used to identify people who have a propensity for terrorism. Over the decades, policies designed to investigate ideology “have proven to be poorly equipped to actually predict what people are going to do,” according to former Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner.”
Wisconsin Sen. Committee OK’s Bill to End Sanctuary Cities (CBS, 11/2/17) A committee passed the bill on a 3-2 party line vote – it still has to be passed by the full Senate and then by the Assembly. Last year the bill died in the Senate.
“The proposal would bar local governments from passing ordinances, approving policies or taking other steps to prevent enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
Inside Trump’s Immigration Crackdown (Reveal, 10/28/17) Watch Reveal reporting on expedited removal, unaccompanied minors and more.
The complicated reasons why some people overstay their U.S. visas (PRI, 10/25/17) Personal stories show difficult decisions.
“For some people, overstaying their visa was never the plan. Rather, it is the result of one, or several, extenuating circumstances that convince immigrants they cannot or do not want to return to their countries.”
Immigration news 