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Politico recently reported that a handful of GOP senators are drafting their own version of the DREAM Act that contains proposals — some of which are different than from what President Trump proposed — and is looking to receive bipartisan support from the Democrats.
A working group — led by Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is also Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman — is attempting to craft a bill that would prevent approximately 700,000 DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients from losing their work visas and being deported. President Trump gave Congress until March 2018 to come up with a permanent replacement to Obama-era immigration policy.
While they all agreed on scuttling in the E-Verify system — which require employers to verify the eligibility of their workers and which Trump wanted as part of the immigration policy — some issues that are still up in the air include the construction of a border wall, cutting back on chain migration and introducing a merit-based visa system without reducing the number of green cards. According to a spokesperson, Grassley is also seeking for solutions on how to “address the root cause of illegal immigration” through enforcement.
In order to gain bipartisan support, the group is working with Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, who, in 2001, drafted legislation that gives those DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship. The trick for this group is to get the Democrats on board with their own bill without facing rejection from the more conservative members of the House of Representatives and the president himself.
For those whose work visas are set to expire, it is important that you seek legal counsel as soon as possible. If you need assistance in obtaining a new work visa, please call Bretz & Coven at (212) 267-2555.
