NUMBERS USA PRESIDENT TRUMP ON DACA

Submitted by: William Homolka

THIS ISSUE: Trump uses White House meeting over immigration to spell out what he wants in DACA deal FRI, JAN 5th The House of Representatives doesn't return until Monday, but there was still a bustle of activity on the immigration issue in Washington this week, including a strong statement from President Trump. Pres. Trump met with a group of Republican Senators at the White House on Thursday to discuss progress on the different DACA amnesty proposals floating around the Senate. The President made it clear from the beginning, and put several of the Senators on notice, by saying that he would accept nothing less than an end to Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery in exchange for an amnesty for DACA recipients. "Any legislation on DACA must secure the border with a wall, it must give our immigration officers the resources they need to stop illegal immigration and also to stop visa overstays and, crucially, the legislation must end chain migration. It must end the visa lottery." -- Pres. Trump, January 4, 2018 Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) were in attendance and agreed with the President. But Trump's comments were directed more at the pro-amnesty Senators in attendance, including Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.). All three have been working with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on legislation that would offer amnesty to the much larger group of "Dreamers" paired with a few minor improvements along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, if other media reports from yesterday are true, it appears that Sens. Tillis and Lankford have left (or been kicked out of) the Durbin/Graham amnesty group because of the group's unwillingness to pair ending Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery with amnesty legislation. (For activists living in North Carolina and Oklahoma, we've posted a new action on your Action Board that you can send to Sens. Tillis and Lankford.) We expect these White House meetings to continue over the next few weeks, involving not only the Senators who attended yesterday's meeting, but also Democratic Senators. Before Thursday's meeting, Congressional leaders met with senior White House officials on Wednesday to discuss spending legislation that must be passed by Jan. 19 to avoid a government shutdown. Democrats have again indicated that they would make an amnesty for DACA recipients a condition for the must-pass legislation. But after the meeting, it appeared that Republican Leaders and the White House budget negotiators have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to the spending bill. "Today the Republicans and Democrats in Congress shared their priorities for a bipartisan spending agreement. The American people deserve a government that funds our great military, protects our borders, and leads to a more prosperous future for all. It is important that we achieve a two-year agreement that funds our troops and provides for our national security and other critical functions of the Federal government. It also remains important that members of Congress do not hold funding for our troops hostage for immigration policy. We've been clear about these budget priorities from the beginning and hope that further discussions will lead to an agreement soon." -- Joint Statement from the White House, the Senate Majority Leader's Office, and the House Speaker's Office We expect more movement on both issues over the next week, so be on the lookout for any action opportunities that we may send your way. In the meantime, please send the new actions we posted earlier this week telling your Members of Congress about our new poll that shows strong support among likely midterm voters for ending Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery. You can read more details from the poll in Roy's blog. CHRIS CHMIELENSKI ACTION Check your Action Board for new faxes telling your Members of Congress about our new poll on Chain Migration, the Visa Lottery, E-Verify, and overall immigration numbers! Our poll found that Pres. Trump's calls for ending Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery appear to be representing the rather stable opinions of a solid majority of likely midterm voters. Visit your Action Board. MORE NEWS... Pres. Trump: DACA Deal Must Include End to Visa Lottery and Chain Migration POLL: Most voters agree with Trump -- END Chain Migration, REDUCE overall immigration CIS Analysis: Chain Migration Pushing Immigration Numbers to Record Levels SPOTLIGHT A+ CHAIN MIGRATION GRADES At the end of the first half of this Congress, 33 U.S. Representatives and 2 Senators have earned an A+ grade from NumbersUSA for their efforts to end Chain Migration, the most important single action needed to start bringing our immigration system into serving the national interest. To view all grades of all Members of Congress, go to the NumbersUSA Immigration-Reduction Grade Cards here. Aderholt, Robert (Rep. - 4th) AL Banks, Jim (Rep. - 3rd) IN Barletta, Louis (Rep. - 11th) PA Brat, Dave (Rep. - 7th) VA Brooks, Susan (Rep. - 5th) IN Brooks, Morris (Rep. - 5th) AL Carter, Buddy (Rep. - 1st) GA Cotton, Tom (Sen.) AR Davidson, Warren (Rep. - 8th) OH Duncan, John (Rep. - 2nd) TN Duncan, Jeff (Rep. - 3rd) SC Farenthold, Blake (Rep. - 27th) TX Garrett, Tom (Rep. - 5th) VA Gosar, Paul (Rep. - 4th) AZ Graves, Sam (Rep. - 6th) MO Graves, Tom (Rep. - 14th) GA Harris, Andrew (Rep. - 1st) MD Hensarling, Jeb (Rep. - 5th) TX Hice, Jody (Rep. - 10th) GA Hudson, Richard (Rep. - 8th) NC Hunter, Duncan (Rep. - 50th) CA Jones, Walter (Rep. - 3rd) NC King, Steve (Rep. - 4th) IA Marchant, Kenny (Rep. - 24th) TX McCaul, Michael (Rep. - 10th) TX Mooney, Alexander (Rep. - 2nd) WV Norman, Ralph (Rep. - 5th) SC Olson, Pete (Rep. - 22nd) TX Perdue, David (Sen.) GA Perry, Scott (Rep. - 4th) PA Pittenger, Robert (Rep. - 9th) NC Roe, Phil (Rep. - 1st) TN Rooney, Francis (Rep. - 19th) FL Smith, Lamar (Rep. - 21st) TX Webster, Daniel (Rep. - 11th) FL

Washington Post's Selective History of Chain Migration JEREMY BECK WED, JAN 3rd The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act is well-known for increasing immigration and for ending the national origins quota system that had existed since the 1920s. News stories will often give the misimpression that ending Chain Migration would reverse all of the 1965 Act when actually it wouldn't reverse any of it (moving to a merit-based system, on the other hand would reverse the 1965 bill's priorities). In combination with the existing chain categories, the 1965 Act's changes resulted in the doubling of immigration over the next 25 years.

DHS Considers End to H-1B Extensions WED, JAN 3rd DHS department heads are drafting a "Buy American, Hire American" proposal that would prevent H-1B visa extensions beyond the six-year limit. If implemented, the proposed regulations would likely stop more than 100,000 foreign workers with pending green card applications from keeping their H-1B visas beyond the allowed two three-year terms, creating job opportunities for higher-skilled Americans.

Trump Admin Outlines Immigration as Part of National Security Strategy ERIC RUARK SAT, DEC 30th President Trump delivered a speech on December 18 outlining his National Security Strategy, a document required each year from the executive branch by Congress. Reiterating themes that won him the 2016 election, President Trump gave strong indications that immigration policy will be at the forefront of his Administration's efforts in 2018.

Calif. Sanctuary Law Forces Sheriff to Terminate ICE Cooperation TUE, DEC 28th The Orange County Sheriff's Department this week terminated its 287(g) agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which allowed deputies to inform immigration agents about criminal aliens in custody. The move came in response to a new state law (SB 54) taking effect on January 1 that prohibits law enforcement agencies from participating in 287(g) and otherwise limits cooperation with ICE. Orange County (OC) Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and the state sheriff's association opposed the sanctuary law, but now all sheriffs must comply.

Immigration Again Tops One Million in 2016: Chain Migration Over 300,000 ERIC RUARK TUE, DEC 28th The recently released Yearbook of Immigration Statistics for 2016 shows us that family-based immigration is the main driver of admission numbers, and that Chain Migration was well over 250,000 in 2016. All together, admissions in Chain Migration extended family categories in 2016 were 307,197.