Graham to roll out extension of Obama immigration program Amnesty
Graham to roll out extension of Obama immigration program
By Jordain Carney - 11/30/16 03:30 PM EST
http://thehill.com/sites/default/fil...?itok=3KjQzWBg
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Wednesday said he will offer legislation to extend a key Obama administration immigration program.
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"I'm going to introduce legislation with my Democratic colleagues and my Republican colleagues that would continue the legal status of the DACA kids," Graham told reporters.
Pressed on details of his legislation, which he'll roll out next year, Graham said: "It's going to be basically if you have legal status today, you'll continue to have legal status."
President-elect Donald Trump pledged during the campaign to nix President Obama's executive orders, including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The program — which has faced a lengthy legal battle — provides people living in the U.S. illegally who arrived as children with work authorization and a temporary halt on deportation if they meet certain requirements.
While Graham said there's a "good argument" that Obama's move was illegal, he believes a temporary DACA extension would pass "overwhelmingly."
"If he repeals it then we ought to immediately pass legislation to extend their legal status. I'm willing to do that," he said. "I'm going to support legislation that will continue legal status for these kids until we can find a fix to the overall program."
Trump sparked backlash from Democrats, and some Republicans, during the campaign when he pledged to deport the roughly 11 million immigrants currently living illegally in the U.S.
He's seemingly softened that stance, telling CBS News that his administration would focus first on deporting undocumented immigrants who have ties to crime.
Graham was one of eight senators known as the “Gang of Eight" who spearheaded a wide-ranging immigration bill that passed the Senate in 2013.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who also worked on the bill, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he wouldn't support "retroactively" removing DACA status but would recommend Trump not allow DACA permit renewals.
http://thehill.com/latino/308146-gra...ration-program
Trump Could Disrupt Graham's Bill To Help Undocumented Immigrants
Sen. Lindsey Graham is working on a bipartisan bill to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
By Ethan Weston | November 30, 2016
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told Politico he's been talking to Republicans and Democrats about a bill to protect undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.
That's in direct opposition to one of Donald Trump's campaign promises: to undo President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals directive aimed at giving legal protection to more than 700,000 undocumented immigrants.
After ending his presidential bid, Graham became one of Trump's biggest detractors in the Republican Party. Graham said he couldn't go where Trump was "taking the [Republican] party" and called on party members to unendorse Trump.
The senator hasn't always been a fan of stand-alone bills that protect young undocumented immigrants.
"You're wasting your time. We're not going to pass the DREAM Act or any other legalization program until we secure our borders," Graham said in a speech to the Senate in 2010.
But Graham has been a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform for years and was part of a bipartisan group known as the Gang of Eight working toward that end.
Graham said the bill wouldn't be up for a vote until next year when Trump will already be in office — so the new president and the Senate might be headed for a fight.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/graham-d...ed-immigrants/