President Donald Trump speaks about modernizing the immigration system in the Rose Garden of the White House, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Republished May 16, 2019 - 9:24 PM
Original Publication Date May 16, 2019 - 7:36 AM
WASHINGTON - The Latest on President Donald Trump's immigration plan (all times local):
7:55 p.m.
The immigration plan unveiled by President Donald Trump includes a proposal to allow public donations to pay for his long-promised southern border wall.
A fact sheet release by the White House on Thursday evening says the president's proposal "will safeguard our homeland by continuing to add to the 400-plus miles of border wall underway in strategic locations" and "will also enable public donations for the wall."
One GoFundMe campaign launched by war veteran Brian Kolfage has raised more than $20 million for wall construction.
Trump forced a government shutdown to try to secure money to fulfil the central promise of his 2016 campaign and then issued an emergency declaration to circumvent Congress for additional funds.
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3:20 p.m.
President Donald Trump says that if Democrats won't adopt his merit-based immigration plan, he'll get it passed after the election.
Trump on Thursday unveiled his proposal in a Rose Garden news conference with little hard-line rhetoric. He says he wants to recruit the "most brilliant" people to live in the U.S. through a system that rewards talent and brains.
Trump is seeking to put a softer facade on the signature issue from his first campaign as he eyes a 2020 reelection. He said Thursday it was time to "restore national unity."
He suggested the plan could get passed after the 2020 election if necessary because the House could flip back to the GOP.
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3 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the immigration plan he's proposing would prioritize "totally brilliant" immigrants.
Trump on Thursday laid out a merit-based plan that would give preferential treatment to high-skilled workers. He says right now the U.S. immigration laws "discriminate against genius" and "discriminate against brilliance" because most of the green cards are given to low-skilled people who would make low wages.
Under the plan, the country would award the same number of green cards as it now does. But far more would go to exceptional students, professionals and people with high-level and vocational degrees. Factors such as age, English language ability and employment offers would also be considered.
Far fewer green cards would be given to people with relatives already in the U.S. Fifty-seven per cent would be awarded on merit as opposed to the current 12%.
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2:45 p.m.
President Donald Trump is laying out a new immigration plan to convince the public and lawmakers that the U.S. legal migration system needs to be overhauled.
Trump, speaking Thursday in the Rose Garden, says his plan aims to create a "fair, modern and lawful system of immigration for the United States." He says: "It's about time."
The latest effort, spearheaded by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, focuses on beefing up border security and rethinking the nation's green card system so that it would favour people with high-level skills, degrees and job offers instead of relatives of those already in the country.
The plan is not yet embraced by his own party — let alone Democrats — and faces an uphill battle in Congress.
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1:35 p.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump's emphasis on merit-based immigration is "condescending" because families have merit, too.
Trump is unveiling a new immigration proposal and Pelosi told reporters she welcomes White House officials who want to come to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers.
But shifting away from a family-based immigration system to one that favours immigrants with high skills is running into resistance from Democrats.
Pelosi said they want to attract "the best to our country." But she asked if Trump means family is without merit. She said it's what merit means "in the eyes of Donald Trump."
Trump's plan does not include protections for immigrants known as Dreamers, and Pelosi said Democrats want to help those young people who were brought here illegally in childhood.
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10:25 a.m.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Donald Trump's immigration plan doesn't include young "Dreamer" immigrants because past plans involving them have failed.
Trump, who's rolling out his plan later Thursday, has dismayed Democrats by trying to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA protects hundreds of thousands of young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.
Sanders tells reporters that "every single time that we have put forward or anyone else has put forward any type of immigration plan that has included DACA it's failed."
Trump's latest plan has been spearheaded by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. It focuses on border security and overhauling the legal immigration system to favour people with skills, rather than favouring family ties.
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12:05 a.m.
A new immigration proposal from President Donald Trump focuses on bolstering border security and rethinking the green card system.
The shift would favour people with high-level skills, degrees and job offers instead of relatives of those already in the country.
Trump is scheduled to roll out the plan Thursday afternoon at the White House. Democrats already criticizing it, and some Republicans have reservations as well.
The plan, as previewed by the White House, doesn't address the millions of immigrants already living in the country illegally. They include hundreds of thousands of young "Dreamers" brought to the U.S. as children. Their fate is a priority for Democrats.
The plan also doesn't reduce overall rates of immigration, as many conservatives would like to see.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019