Luján Reaction White House's Latest Immigration Proposal

Statement

Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) today issued the following statement following the release of the White House's outline of its newest immigration proposal:

"With his latest proposal, President Trump is holding DREAMers hostage to achieve a new hardline immigration policy -- a policy that includes drastic changes to the legal immigration system and an expensive and ineffective wall that will cost taxpayers billions.

This is not a compromise; this is the President attempting to appease his political base by using young immigrants and their families as bargaining chips. DREAMers are nurses, engineers, small business owners, our friends and our neighbors. These young people came to the United States as children, some of them only a year or two old. They grew up in the U.S., singing the Star Spangled Banner, pledging allegiance to the only flag they've ever known: the American flag.

Good public policy requires give and take; this proposal is an example of the White House taking advantage of a situation it created. Instead, we should continue the bipartisan talks that are underway to resolve this problem. I will keep working to make that happen."

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