Article Analysis Essay on the Immigration Deal Trumps White House Is Floating

The article The immigration deal Trumps White House is floating, explained by Dara Lind posits that the proposed immigration laws will certainly lead to illegal immigration since it inhibits the proven means of migration. To this end, it suggests that the hardline legislation by US president, Donald Trump, to reduce the number of legal immigrants to the country by half every year with half would aggravate the problem of illegal immigration. It is worth noting the presidents main aim for proposing or supporting the law is that he could do away with the old system that permitted people into the US through family connections. The proposed system would rely on job skills and approved merit. The main selling point for the proposed bill is that it will save money for the taxpayers through the limitation of the non-skilled immigrants, who almost end up on welfare program.

The plan is to prioritize immigrants who have a degree of proficiency in the English language, which is the initial stage of the proposed by the bill. Additionally, the bill seeks to reduce the poverty levels in the US, save the country billions of dollars from various avenues, and increase the wages of the working class. In essence, the plan is to allow immigrants who have the ability to speak English, can support their families and themselves, which means that they would not go into welfare immediately they step into the country. The administration estimates that the bigger percentage of immigrants moves to the country for reasons other than skills. The bill intends to reduce the number that comes into the country through the Green Card, which allows close to a million people into the country annually.

The administration further posits that 50% of all the immigrant households are on welfare, which is quite high when compared to 30% of the native household under the same program. In order to actualize this impending policy, President Trump has slashed federal subsidies and grants as part of federal efforts to contain immigration through deportations and detention those deemed to live in the country illegally. Against the administrations expectations, the senate has extensively ignored the bill. Notably, no lawmaker has even signed as a co-sponsor. Therefore, it means that the bill might not even come close to passage. Ironically, The Republican Party, which is the presidents party, has shown great degree of laxity towards the bill.

In order to make the bill more palatable and popular with the seemingly reluctant lawmakers across board, the administration is willing to make changes that include permitting 1.8 million immigrants to become legal residents with the possibility of applying for permanent residency. Additionally, the bill will include close 700, 000 beneficiaries of DACA (Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals), and the other who are eligible for such a program. Such changes would resonate positively with the members of the house. The fact that it is not clear whether the house will adopt the proposed changes before passing the bill presents a real dilemma.

As it stands, the senate has little time to debate the bill and any endorsement by the president could see the bill pass. If the bill passes by March 5, many immigrants will lose their DAC benefits. The president will certainly endorse the bill since it addresses tow of his priorities, which are diversity visa lottery and chain migration. While both the house Democrats and Republicans are of the idea of beefing up border security it is not clear how the representatives will receive the idea of spending $25 billion to actualize that dream. The real dilemma is not the amount of money spent, but rather the feasibility of the project.

Homeland security and influential lawmakers like John Coryn have proposed statutory changes that prevent people from pursuing asylum after gaining access to the US and to minimize special protection for unaccompanied children and families crossing the border. It is worth noting that in the contemporary setting, children make up the biggest percentage of those that cross the border, and deterring them should therefore form part of the security measure. The confirmation by White House that there will be changes to effect the mentioned policies will definitely increase the number of representatives that support the bill Reaching the 60 representative threshold be a high possibility.

The bills main objective is to deter illegal entry or to reduce the number of immigrants into the US. The provisions and the objectives are consistent with President Trumps campaign pledges that sought to put America and Americans first. In this regard, he aims to reserve the opportunities available to the natives by first keeping out the immigrants. Therefore, the best ways are to build a wall that will deny Mexicans entry, reduce the slots for the Green Card lottery and to pave ways for the deportation of illegal immigrants. The bill suffered a serious setback due to the reluctance by house member to endorse it. However, the proposed changes could see it pass by an overwhelming majority as early as March this year.

Work Cited

Lind, Dara. The immigration deal Trumps White House is Floating, Explained. Vox Media, 2018. Accessed from https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/1/25/16929600/trump-immigration-bill