Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) will offer the Secure and Succeed Act that would largely reflect the White House proposal to deal with DACA. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), David Perdue (R-Ga.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) will cosponsor the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has endorsed it.
The Secure and Succeed Act would grant amnesty to an estimated 1.8 million DACA-eligible illegal aliens and offer them a path to citizenship in 10-12 years. It would also end Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery, but repurposes those green cards to clear out the backlog of 4 million foreign citizens who are awaiting chain migration green cards, delaying significant reductions in legal immigration levels for 15-20 years. The bill will also call for a $25 billion trust fund to help improve border security and makes some improvements to interior enforcement.
The bill does not include a requirement for all employers to use E-Verify, which would shut off the jobs magnet and prevent future amnesties.
"This legislation is a reasonable approach to shielding children illegally brought to our country through no fault of their own while also taking the meaningful steps to ensure nobody finds themselves in the same situation in the future," Sen. Grassley said.
Sen. McConnell has opened up the Senate floor for a debate on immigration this week that will allow Senators from both parties to offer their proposals as amendments. Anything offered will need to reach 60 votes to pass.
"A number of my colleagues, Senators Grassley, Cornyn, Tillis, Perdue, Lankford, Cotton, and Ernst will introduce a balanced proposal that tries to meet these requirements. I support the president's proposal and my colleagues' legislation to implement it. The secure and succeed act is fair, addresses both sides' most pressing concerns, conforming to the conditions the president has put forward," Sen. McConnell said.
