As President Trump prepares to introduce his 'DACA' compromise in Congress today, the two candidates for U.S. Senate from Texas disagree on the compromise, for exactly opposite reasons, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The President's proposal would create a long term 'path to citizenship' for some 1.8 million people who came to the U.S. with their illegal immigrants parents as children, but calls for $25 billion for a border wall, tougher border security, the end to so called 'chain migration, which is where people can gain legal admission to the U.S. and use that status to bring in relatives, and an end to the 'diversity Visa lottery,' which was created in the 2000s to attract immigrants from other than Latin American and Caribbean nations, which then were providing 90% of U.S. immigration.
U.S. Rep Beto O'Rourke (D-El Paso) says he opposes the President's proposals, because they put all the responsibility for border security on the backs of 'Dreamers.'
"So whether it's Trump talking about it or (Senate Democratic Leader Chuck) Schumer talking about it, what matters is what we say when we are talking about it," O'Rourke told a weekend rally. "We will not trade those things that will hurt our community, like walls and militarization, in exchange for doing the right thing for the country, which is to insure that those 'dreamers' can stay here."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), the man O'Rourke is trying to unseat, says he opposes the President's proposals too, but for the opposite reason.
"I do not believe we should be granting citizenship to anybody who is here illegally," Cruz said, saying 'the people who elected him' do not want amnesty for nearly two million people they consider to be 'lawbreakers.'
The differences between Cruz and O'Rourke are mirrored on Capitol Hill, where the House Freedom Caucus has already said it will fight any effort by President Trump to grand 'amnesty' for the 'Dreamers.'