President Donald Trump announced his plans of passing an immigration reform bill that would enable certain undocumented immigrants to reside in the US without having to fear deportation. If passed, this would allow undocumented immigrants who are not serious or violent criminals to reside, pay taxes and work in the country.
"The time is right for an immigration bill as long as there is compromise on both sides," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
According to the Guardian, the details of the immigration reform bill came out before the president gave out his first presidential address to Congress. According to the proposal, undocumented immigrants who have not been charged with serious or violent crimes can be allowed to live with a legal status in the US. While residing in the country, they will also be obliged to pay taxes and have the opportunity to gain employment.
While deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not deny these reports, she pointed out that Trump has been concise in speaking out his mind over the “broken” immigration system, as reported by CNN. “It needs massive reform and he’s made clear he’s open to having conversations about that in moving forward,” Sanders said of the immigration reform bill while adding: “Until I’ve had an opportunity to have that conversation with the president, I’m not going to speculate on what that would look like.”
In addition, a White House official stated that Trump’s speech covers his plans for health care reform, military expansion and border protection and control. Specific changes in immigration policies, however, were not identified. The president’s speech was also said to have been inspired by his conversations with “healthcare industry leaders, law enforcement officials, coalminers, other union representatives and frontline workers.”
Trump’s speech to Congress comes 40 days since he began his term, which has sustained international protests against his administration, a speedy implementation of his travel ban that brought on confusion at airports, challenged the Affordable Care Act, revoked protection over the LGBT community and reinforced questions regarding the government’s associations with Russia.
