Civic Register
| 9.29.17

GOP Unveils "Conservative Dream Act"

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What’s the story?

Republican Sens. Tom Tillis (NC), James Lankford (OK), and Orrin Hatch (UT) have answered President Trump’s call for a Congressional fix to DACA.

The SUCCEED Act (Solution for Undocumented Children through Careers Employment Education and Defending our nation) would provide a "fair and compassionate" merit-based solution to the thousands of young undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S.

The bill – which, according to Lankford, is not "amnesty" – would limit who can remain in the country based on their work experience, military service, and years of American education.

Unlike previous versions of Dreamers legislation, SUCCEED wouldn’t allow green-card holders to petition for close relatives (like spouses or children) to obtain permanent residency.

Why does it matter?

Tillis tweeted on Monday that:

The #SUCCEEDAct is based on four core principles: Compassion. Merit. Prevention. Fairness.

To be eligible for the SUCCEED Act, the immigrant must have been in the U.S. before the age of 16 on or before June 15, 2012 (the start of DACA). They’d also be required to pass a "rigorous" criminal background check, submit biometric data to the Department of Homeland Security, and pay off any back taxes or establish a repayment plan.

At a news conference on Monday, Tillis acknowledged there’s going to be resistance on both sides:

"We’ll have to take the hits," Tillis said. “We’ll take the hits on the far left for saying you’re not getting them to citizenship soon enough, and you’ll take it on the far right for saying you’ve ever given them an opportunity to pursue citizenship.”

The hits have already started. Frank Sharry, of immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, argued many of SUCCEED’s provisions were "disturbing."

"None of these provisions are applied to other groups of admitted immigrants," Sharry said in a statement. “Why, then, does this bill send this group of young Americans to the back of the bus?”

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) shared similar sentiments in a statement.

"In contrast to the bipartisan Dream Act, their bill excludes tens of thousands of Dreamers who came to the United States as children, have lived here for decades, and have clean criminal records, based solely on arbitrary date cutoffs," Durbin said.

House Democrats recently introduced a discharge petition to bring the DREAM Act to the floor. (Hatch was a co-author on the original DREAM Act in 2001 with Durbin).

Despite pushback from various groups, Lankford said President Trump supports much of the SUCCEED Act.

"The president was very outspoken when I walked him through the details of it. He said that’s exactly the kind of solution that I think would work and would be a good option to be able to accomplish."

What do you think?

Is the SUCCEED Act "the kind of solution" you think would work? Or do you also find many of the bill’s provisions “disturbing”? Hit the Take Action button and tell your reps how to vote, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: BeeBright / iStockphoto)