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Labrador, McMorris Rodgers Hope DACA Announcement Leads to Immigration Fix

immigracionhoy.com

The Trump administration has announced it intends to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

The Inland Northwest’s two U.S. House representatives say they hope the announcement will lead to a broader reform of the nation’s immigration laws. Progressive groups are urging support of a measure to help the so-called “young dreamers.”

Idaho Republican Congressman Raul Labrador issued a statement Monday praising the president’s decision to end DACA. It’s a program which, according to Labrador, has enrolled about 800-thousand people whose parents are in the country illegally.

In his statement, Labrador says the president is quote “creating leverage for larger immigration reform, which is should include border wall funding and stronger interior enforcement.”

Washington Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers also issued a statement. In it, she says she’s committed to working with her colleagues to quote ‘establish common sense policies for children of immigration.’ During a town hall meeting in Spokane last month, she said that starts with policies that secure America’s borders.

“And then we need to look at other aspects of the visa reform," McMorris Rodgers said. "Forty-percent of those that are here, undocumented, overstayed their visas. We need to look at a workable ag guest worker program. And we need to look at our refugee programs and really come up with a policy as to what is going to be America’s role and how much do we want to bring and resettle in America versus how much do we think we can support resettlement programs elsewhere.”

The progressive group Fuse Washington has urged McMorris Rodgers to support what’s known as the DREAM Act. It’s co-sponsored by Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. It would create a process for children of immigrants who have grown up in the U.S. to become citizens.