The first piece of legislation out of the current United States Congress was aimed at detaining illegal immigrants accused of crimes, hot off the heels of President Donald Trump‘s election campaign focused on the issue.
Since then, Republicans have introduced multiple bills looking to amend immigration law, focused on known criminals, curtailing sanctuary policies, and enabling deportations. Democrats have countered with legislation aimed at stopping elements of the Trump administration’s policies.
But no lawmaker in either party has tried to re-introduce comprehensive immigration reform, despite Congress coming close to a rewrite of decades-old immigration laws last year, and a clear consensus from voters during the 2024 presidential election that the U.S. immigration system needs major, structural change.
“Trump has taken a record number of executive actions on immigration, but he has not updated U.S. immigration laws, because only Congress can do that, and the U.S. immigration system remains outdated, overwhelmed and under-resourced,” Kathleen Bush-Joseph, policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, told Newsweek. “So there absolutely needs to be legislative change.”
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A Senator With A Plan
On Monday, Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, unveiled a 20-page proposal for immigration reform, arguing that the country’s borders could be secured without damaging economic growth. His proposal, which is not technically a bill, includes extra funding and resources for the U.S. Border Patrol, asylum reforms and the expansion of legal immigration routes.
“We don’t have to choose between border security and immigration reform. We can and should do both. Americans deserve the…
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