Washington, D.C. – Thursday, President Trump announced he would support an immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for 1.8 million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and increased funding for border security. In a response to this statement, Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) said the following: 

“I have always believed that increased border security must come first and foremost in any plan to address the children of illegal immigrants. Anything less would be encouraging illegal immigration without solving the root problem, our porous border. I am pleased to see that the President’s initial framework seeks to address our border security problem and other harmful immigration policies while taking into consideration the circumstances of DACA designees,” said Crawford.

In September of 2017, President Trump rescinded DACA, which protects individuals who were brought to the United States as children from deportation. This immigration policy was implemented by an executive order and never passed through the chambers of Congress. In addition, it did not create a pathway for citizenship. Congress is now tasked with creating a legislative solution for DACA recipients while maintaining policies that will fortify our border and national security.