Democratic Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez thinks the White House’s immigration priorities are part of a “white supremacist agenda,” but Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King doesn’t think the plan goes far enough.
The White House sent a 70-point immigration plan to Congressional leaders Sunday after weeks of waiting for the Trump administration’s guidelines for a deal that would provide amnesty to roughly 800,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries.
The requests include funding for a border wall, more immigration enforcement officers and judges, closing loopholes in order to make easier to deport unaccompanied minors and implementing a merit-based immigration system. (RELATED: Read More About The Plan Here)
“I’m neither surprised nor thrilled,” Rep. King, an immigration hawk, told The Daily Caller Monday about the plan. “It is a good list. I would make it an even better list but I don’t have much leverage because I oppose legalizing DACA.”
Some of the policies Rep. King would like to add to the list are an end to birthright citizenship (something Trump called for on the campaign), making English the official language and reforming the census so that illegal immigrants aren’t counted.
“Even then, I don’t know that I could vote for it because DACA gives amnesty to illegals,” King said. However, he added, “All of the immigration policy the president is attempting to get into a deal are that which are his campaign promises. I believe he has a mandate to do all on his list and most, if not all on mine, too.”