Hoping to fend off a legal challenge to a program that has spared nearly 800,000 young immigrants from deportation, two veteran senators made a long-shot appeal to President Trump on Thursday to support legislation that would put those immigrants and thousands of others on a path to U.S. citizenship.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) introduced "Dream Act" legislation that would grant permanent legal status to more than 1 million young people who arrived in the United States before they turned 18, passed security checks and met other criteria, including enrolling in college, joining the military or finding jobs. Immigrants must have lived in the United States for at least four years to apply.
"I am hoping we can find a pathway forward with President Trump," Graham said at a news conference. "Wouldn’t it be ironic if the man who started his campaign talking about illegal immigration in a very tough way would be the man who started the country on a path to solving the problem?"
Read more at The Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/durbin-graham-file-dream-act-hoping-to-ward-off-legal-challenge-to-daca/2017/07/20/19ade326-6cd4-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html