Briana Koeneman
Republicans Propose 'Merit-Based' Replacement For DACA
The bill would allow immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to apply for citizenship after 15 years.
LEARN MOREPosted: 10:46 a.m. EDT Oct 9, 2017
On Sunday, the White House sent a long list of immigration policy demands to Congress.
And President Donald Trump says those policies "must be included" in any legislation addressing the status of immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The Trump administration's extensive wish list includes funding a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, overhauling the green card system and hiring 10,000 more immigration agents.
Trump said in a letter to lawmakers the proposals are "necessary to ensure prosperity, opportunity, and safety for every member of our national family."
But Democratic leaders almost immediately denounced the demands.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement the list "goes so far beyond what is reasonable" and "fails to represent any attempt at compromise."
The demands could derail negotiations over legislation that would address the canceled DACA program.
The Obama-era program protected immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children from deportation and provided them with work permits. As of early September, there were almost 690,000 active DACA recipients in the country.
Trump abruptly ended that program in September and gave Congress six months to find a replacement for it.
