House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today released a joint statement with Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), after the White House announced its new immigration proposal:

“Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program jeopardized the lives of nearly a million young people who proudly call this country home.   Since that moment he has waffled between expressing concern and even love for Dreamers to using a hateful, derogatory term to describe immigrants from certain nations and demanding billions of dollars for a border wall.  Throughout all of this, well-meaning Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have engaged in earnest negotiations to reach a compromise that would save Dreamers and protect American integrity. 

“Today, Donald Trump rejected these compromises by putting forth an extreme, nativist, anti-immigrant proposal that fulfills his campaign promise of mass deportation. This is not a true compromise.  It is a ransom demand from an Administration that has taken the Dreamers hostage as leverage for hateful immigration policy.  This will not work.

“We will not and cannot support this White House immigration proposal.  We are disgusted that the Trump administration has chosen to exploit the vulnerable position of Dreamers to implement a mass deportation agenda. Speaker Ryan should put a clean DREAM Act on the floor and let the majority of Members decide.”

###