WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today on the immigration legislation HR 6136 proposed by House Republican Leadership:
“For months, members on both sides of the aisle have worked in good faith to try and pass bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers. We’re grateful for this work and the recognition that DACA recipients deserve a pathway to citizenship. We appreciate the inclusion of language to eliminate arbitrary per-country caps that keep legal immigrants from populous countries like India trapped in decades-long backlogs, waiting for green cards they may never get, as well as measures to ensure children of highly-skilled workers, who otherwise would be forced to leave once they reach 21, also have a pathway to stay in legal status. We supported their efforts just as we supported the bipartisan Rounds-King amendment in the Senate and the bipartisan USA Act introduced by Congressmen Hurd and Aguilar in the House. Those bills were compromises that included tough choices and challenging tradeoffs in exchange for protecting millions of deserving Dreamers across the country. Unfortunately, H.R. 6136 falls short of these standards. It has no bipartisan support, includes substantial and harmful cuts to legal immigration, and protects only a narrow population of Dreamers.
“Further, and particularly in light of the Administration’s new policy of separating children from their parents at the border, it is the wrong approach that this legislation also includes changes to the asylum process that will permit the indefinite detention of children and families. Rather than fixing the policy created by the Administration, this legislation would make the situation far worse. Children should not be separated from their parents who are seeking asylum – but neither can the answer be the indefinite jailing of these children with their parents. We reject this false choice. We as Americans should expect more, and so we oppose this bill.”