Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is calling on President Donald Trump to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, singling out those he described as academic high achievers.
In an interview with Fox Business Channel, Gingrich said he has “always believed” in protections for so-called DREAMers.
“I’ve always believed, for example, that the DREAMers, the young people who came here at 6 months, a year, two years, don’t even speak any language except English, went to high school here, got to be valedictorians, that it makes no sense to force them to leave the only country they’ve ever lived in,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich argued that any policy fix should distinguish between those individuals and people with criminal records.
“There are nuances to fixing this that can be done,” Gingrich said. “I also think having a focus on criminals makes a lot of sense. Virtually all Americans… that if you’re a criminal, we don’t need you in our neighborhood. So there’s a middle ground.”
Gingrich’s comments came in response to a recent 60 Minutes interview in which Trump suggested he might be open to working with congressional Democrats on immigration legislation that could include a path to remain in the country for some undocumented immigrants, including people working in landscaping and hotel jobs.
“I’d love to do something about immigration,” Trump said. “Get the killers out. Get all the rough ones out. Get the drug dealers out. But let the people that are here, and in some cases here for ten and 15 years, work a deal for them.”
Trump acknowledged the issue divides public opinion.
“Now, there is a large part of the country that think that they should be put out. And there’s a large part of the country that think that they should be allowed to stay if they’re good people working in a landscaping company, or working in a hotel, or doing something, right?” Trump said. “And in some cases, paying taxes. And there’s a large group of people who think that they should be allowed to stay.”
A Long Record on Immigration
Gingrich has long favored higher levels of immigration to the United States. In the 1990s, then-Rep. Barbara Jordan (D-TX) was tasked by President Bill Clinton with leading a commission to address the nation’s immigration system. Jordan’s commission ultimately recommended substantial cuts to legal immigration levels, arguing that high annual intake was putting economic pressure on working-class Americans and straining the social safety net.
As House Speaker at the time, Gingrich led efforts that kept Jordan’s recommendations on reducing legal immigration out of the final legislative package that reached Clinton’s desk.
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