A solution for Dreamers legislation should be right around the corner, but New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats are standing in its way.

President Donald Trump’s stance against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA) was a significant part of his campaign. When Trump reversed the Obama-era executive order, many thought DACA recipients in New York state — some who live in Syracuse and belong to the Syracuse University community — would soon be deported. But five months later, a deal is in the works to create a path to citizenship for DACA recipients and undocumented immigrants who meet DACA criteria.

Democrats in Congress like Schumer believe the best course of action is a “clean bill,” in which a path to citizenship is granted to undocumented immigrants who qualify for DACA status without any compromise from Republican leadership. This approach, while commendable to absolutists for a path to citizenship, is completely unrealistic.

“If (Trump) didn’t want to turn it into a bargaining chip, he never had to do anything in the first place,” said Audie Klotz, a professor of political science in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “So, the fact that he did something and put a six-month timeframe on it turned it into a political bargaining chip.”

As much as Trump says a solution for Dreamers is what he wants, it’s a tough buy after his past statements. The best solution is a quid pro quo: Give Trump some of what he wants so a Dream Act can pass. And the Democrats are capable of agreeing to fund additional border security or a wall along the southern United States border. Schumer initially offered border wall funding as part of a deal, even more than Trump had requested for this year, per Politico.

But after the failure to reach an earlier compromise led to January’s government shutdown, Schumer took that deal off the table. Of all things Democrats could give in exchange for a Dream Act, this would be by far the least consequential. But even that likely won’t be enough.

The other options involve amending the country’s legal immigration system. Trump has been vocal about moving the United States toward a merit-based immigration system. Enacting this change would shift from the family reunification model set into law by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and restructure a central component to the U.S.’s immigration policies.

The Immigration and Nationality Act allowed citizens who immigrated from other countries to sponsor their relatives, who in turn could sponsor other relatives. Of the 1 million U.S. green cards given out each year, 53 percent of employment-sponsored immigrants are relatives of principle applicants, while approximately 14 percent are given on the basis of merit, according to The Washington Post.

While not eradicating the ability to petition for nuclear family members, shifting to a merit-based system would bring more skilled workers into the U.S. economy.

Schumer and the Democrats will likely push for a clean bill until the end, but a Dream Act is not far out of reach so long as Congress is willing to compromise on both sides of the spectrum. If American politics has taught us anything, it’s that you can’t always get what you want.

Brandon Ross is a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at bross02@syr.edu.

Published on February 13, 2018 at 10:35 pm