Trump administration re-opens door to citizenship for Dreamers - Washington Times
Author: The Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com
Description: Top administration officials told Congress on Tuesday that illegal immigrant Dreamers should be granted a full pathway to citizenship, seemingly contradicting President Trump who said last month that citizenship wasn't on the table.

Skip to content

# Trump administration re-opens door to citizenship for Dreamers

Contradicts Trump’s stance

Search Search Keyword:

## Latest Videos

## Recommended

### Stephen Paddock, 64, identified as Las Vegas shooting suspect; took his own life

### Quiz: Do you know the 50 states?

### FBI says no terror ties in Las Vegas shooting despite ISIS claim; at least 59 dead, 527 wounded

### Top 10 U.S. fighter jets

### How To: Fix Your Fatigue And Get More Energy

## Commentary

### Wesley Pruden

Reducing disaster in Puerto Rico to politics

### Richard W. Rahn

Drawing opportunity from disaster

### Cheryl K. Chumley

Atheists win right to pray — really, right to mock

View all

### Moise Katumbi and His Family's Illicit Fortunes

Sponsored

### Say goodbye to your online privacy, enter name and brace yourself

## Question of the Day

### Will Congress shift focus to gun debate after Vegas rampage?

Question of the Day
Yes
No
Not sure
View results
Print
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Top administration officials told Congress on Tuesday that illegal immigrant Dreamers should be granted a full pathway to citizenship, seemingly contradicting President Trump who said last month that citizenship wasn’t on the table.

With just two days to go before the final deadline for Dreamers to renew protections under the Obama-era deportation amnesty program known as DACA, officials were on Capitol Hill to defend their handling of the situation.

They said that with the exception of Puerto Ricans affected by hurricanes, the Oct. 5 renewal deadline will remain in place, saying it’s up to Congress to figure out some more permanent protections.

Michael Dougherty, assistance Homeland Security secretary for strategy and policy, said the nearly 700,000 Dreamers currently protected by DACA have earned it.

“They’re a benefit to the country, as are many immigrants coming in,” he said. “They are a valuable contribution to our society. We need to regularize their status through some legal means.”

Pressed by Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, about whether that status should stop short of citizenship, Mr. Dougherty said citizenship has to be available to Dreamers.

“Creating second-class citizens or people who are never able to naturalize is not a good model,” he said. He said Mr. Trump shares that view.

But just last month Mr. Trump, explaining what he was looking for in a deal from Congress, seemed to rule out citizenship rights.

“We’re not looking at citizenship. We’re not looking at amnesty. We’re looking at allowing people to stay here,” Mr. Trump said after meeting with top Democratic leaders to talk about a path forward.

Mr. Trump had also expressed concern about whether the newly legalized children would be able to petition for their parents — often the ones who brought them here illegally — to eventually gain legal status, thereby benefitting from their illegal activity.

“CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration!” the president tweeted.

The Trump officials demurred on that question Tuesday, though, saying they’ll leave it up to Congress.

I’d leave that to you. We’re happy to help in any way we can,” Mr. Dougherty said.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, signaled he’s looking for a long list of add-ons to any legalization bill. He pointed to more border security, cleaner laws related to deportation, and mandatory use by businesses of E-Verify, the currently voluntary federal program that allows businesses to check potential hires’ work status.

“If everybody’s reasonable, we can reach a solution,” Mr. Grassley said.

Administration officials insisted they didn’t have much choice in ending the DACA program, and said the six-month phaseout was the most humane option.

With Texas promising to sue to stop DACA in the same courts that in 2015 had already halted a broader Obama amnesty, Trump officials said it was either do an “orderly wind down” or else risk a judge cutting off the program immediately.

Under the phaseout, all current two-year permits will be honored until they expire. And anyone whose permit expires before March 5 has until Tuesday to apply for a two-year renewal.

Democrats pleaded for an extension of the Thursday deadline, saying thousands of Dreamers won’t have had enough time to gather paperwork or scrounge the nearly $500 filing fee required to re-apply.

And they rejected the kind of list of security measures Mr. Grassley said he wants to see as part of a bill.

“If Republicans continue to insist on measures outside of the Dream Act and sensible border security that excludes the wall, they’re going to risk ruining a bipartisan agreement to protect the Dreamers,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.

In addition to the administration officials, also testifying Tuesday were Denisse Rojas Marquez, an illegal immigrant Dreamer currently protected by DACA, and Bill Hartzell, whose grandmother-in-law was slain by an 18-year-old illegal immigrant in Nebraska in 2013.

Ms. Marquez, who was brought to the U.S. as an infant and is now a medical school student in New York, said she lives in fear of being deported, saying that would derail her from her life’s goal of becoming a doctor.

“DACA lifted me out of the shadows, in every sense possible,” she said.

Mr. Hartzell, though, recounted the bedroom scene of the 93-year-old woman everyone knew as “Gram” — herself part of the wave of Italian immigrants in the 20th Century — after she was beaten and raped by an illegal immigrant. He said her blood was spattered on every square foot of ceiling and wall.

Mr. Hartzell said allowing illegal immigrants to remain puts Americans in danger.

“When you go home tonight, or this weekend, and gather with your families around the dining room table, why don’t you go ahead and decide which child, parent or grandparent you will be willing to sacrifice so that others here illegally can realize their dreams,” he said.

During questions lawmakers ignored Mr. Hartzell, instead asking Ms. Marquez about her fears of deportation

LOAD COMMENTS ()
HIDE COMMENTS

Copyright © 2017 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Click to Read More

Click to Hide

## Top Stories

### Tormenting Manafort is seen as Weissmann’s way to snare big prosecution targets for Mueller

### Fewer players kneel during anthem, protest in other ways after backlash

### Quiz: US Citizenship Test - Could You Pass?

### Successful border enforcement saves habitat, visitor security on National Park Service land

### Price scandal leads to policy of White House having to approve travel

### With Gorsuch filling out bench, Supreme Court ready to break ground on high-profile cases

### Sen. Bernie Sanders says race is a factor in Trump’s response to Puerto Rico

### NFL risks billions in publicly funded stadiums as millionaire players stage kneeling protests

### Colin Kaepernick donated $25,000 to group honoring convicted cop-killer

### MAGA hat thief explodes at college officials: ‘He’s recording me like I’m the criminal!’

### Conservatives in Hollywood: Celebrities who lean right

### Professors propose ‘privileged identity’ training for traveling whites

### Quiz: Test Your Civil War Knowledge

### 21 best guns for home protection

### Elementary school librarian rejects books donated by Melania Trump

### ICE nabs nearly 500 aliens in sweep of sanctuary cities

### Christians in Hollywood

### NBA commissioner lays down law, says players will stand