Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) will propose a bill as early as today that is similar to the White House proposal, but makes several tweaks so that legal immigration levels never fall below 1 million per year. The proposal would convert any green cards freed up by ending the Visa Lottery or Chain Migration categories to employment-based green cards.
Sen. Flake's proposal would maintain the amnesty for an estimated 1.8 million DACA-eligible illegal aliens from the White House plan. It would also include the same call for a $25 billion trust fund to increase border security. But like the White House proposal, it lacks an E-Verify mandate that would shut off the jobs magnet and end future illegal immigration,
Where the proposal would differ from the White House plan is in how it repurposes green cards that are eliminated from ending the Visa Lottery and Chain Migration. While the White House plan would repurpose those green cards only to clear out the backlog of 4 million foreign citizens awaiting Chain Migration green cards and then eventually eliminate those green cards over a period of 15-20 years, Sen. Flake would transfer those green cards to the employment-based categories, maintaining current legal immigration levels.
For more on this story, see Politico.
