Conservative Koch brothers call for permanent legal status for Dreamers
Conservative Koch brothers call for permanent legal status for Dreamers, border security
Rebecca Plevin, The Desert Sun Published 5:55 p.m. PT Jan. 26, 2018 | Updated 6:11 p.m. PT Jan. 26, 2018
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(Photo: File photo)
The network associated with conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch is calling on Congress and the White House to compromise on an immigration deal that provides a permanent legal status for 1.8 million undocumented young adults known as Dreamers, while also enhancing border security.
But a Koch-funded grassroots organization targeting the country's Latino community said it cannot support "arbitrary cuts" to future legal immigration levels.
That follows this week's release of a White House immigration plan that would allow families to sponsor only their spouses and minor children for citizenship. President Donald Trump, who has been critical of so-called chain migration, proposed preventing families from sponsoring their parents, adult children or siblings.
The administration's framework also calls for ending the diversity visa lottery, replacing it with a merit-based program.
"We welcome a debate about whether our current legal immigration policy properly balances family and skills-based migration," Daniel Garza, president of the LIBRE Initiative, said in a statement. "But that broad debate should not distract from the immediate goal of providing certainty to Dreamers and enhancing security."
"We look forward to working with Congress and the White House on balanced legislation that enhances border security, protects the Dreamers, and wins bipartisan support," he said.
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As the battle over immigration reform intensifies in Washington D.C., the Koch brothers' network will be meeting and honing its strategy this weekend during its annual desert-based conference for donors, which will take place this year at the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa.
This weekend's event, which starts Saturday night and ends Monday night, is expected to be the group's largest gathering yet, according to James Davis, spokesman for the Seminar Network.
The network, a powerful force in conservative politics that promotes a free-market economy, has been highly influential in shaping policy under the Trump administration.
https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/26d...s-1.30.16.jpegCharles Koch kicks off the Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce 2016 winter retreat in Indian Well on Jan. 30, 2016. (Photo: Courtesy of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce)
Last month, the Republican-led Congress passed the first significant tax overhaul since the Reagan administration. The Koch brothers lobbied heavily for the bill.
At this weekend's gathering, the group will discuss the benefits of the reform package and consider how to further improve the tax code moving forward, Davis said.
The law slashes the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent starting this year.
The billionaires, who have long criticized the Affordable Care Act, also applaud the tax law's elimination of the individual mandate, which required people to have health insurance or face a fine, Davis said.
READ MORE: Charles Koch to Indian Wells donors: 'I'm still here'
The network will also determine which congressional and governors' races it will financially back during this year's mid-term elections, Davis said.
As of June 2017, the network said it planned to spend $300 million to $400 million in the 2018 election cycle.
This weekend's seminar will focus on the theme of breaking barriers through reforms in government, education, business and criminal justice, Davis said.
Among those reforms is a $4 million pilot project the network is launching to help former prisoners successfully reenter society, USA TODAY reported this week. The goal of the Safe Streets & Second Chances project is to develop individualized reentry plans that start on the first day prisoners are incarcerated, according to USA TODAY.
It will start with a trial experiment involving 1,000 participants in four states: Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Pennsylvania.
In recent years, Charles Koch has lobbied to reduce penalties for non-violent offenses and make it easier for convicted felons to gain occupational licenses and other work opportunities once they are released, USA TODAY said.
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