Construction of a southern border wall, more money for border security and a mandatory use of a system that ensures employers hire legal residents are part of a list of immigration policy demands released by the Trump administration in exchange for legislation that could protect young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers.
A crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities –jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with Federal immigration officers– are on the list of demands the White House released Sunday and which could derail negotiations with lawmakers looking for a way to protect hundreds of thousands of young people who could face deportation come March.
The hard-line demands were denounced by Democratic Congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer, who met with President Trump last month after he announced the end of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program protected roughly 700,000 Dreamers from deportation and gave them a way to find legal employment in the country.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the list of demands goes beyond what the lawmakers and the president discussed. The paper reported that Democrats are hopeful for the Dream Act, a bill which would provide temporary legal protection and an eventual path to citizenship for certain young immigrants who stay in good standing through pursuing education, military service, and other means.
