The new immigration reform deal: merit vs. lobby
By Mona Austin On Thursday, Pres. Trump rolled out the tenants of a new immigration plan, the Immigration Modernization Act, looking toward fulfilling it in a possible second term. Many of the details were a reiteration of the GOP's views on immigration reform, but surprisingly there were no glaring cries for a border wall to be built as per the usual rallying cry that nudges the Republican base. Yet, border security remains a priority in the immigration reform effort. "W e’re already building the wall, and we should have close to 400 miles built by the end of next year, and probably even more than that." The president said he wants to adopt a universal admission standard that will stop "asylum abuse" with a point system he described as "merit and heart" based. The Democrats have already begun to call it a campaign speech noticing the difference in tone. A USA Today article called the plan dead-on-arrival even before he rolled...