The immigration grand bargain the Senate will vote on as early as Thursday afternoon would “invite a mad rush of illegality,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday.
Mr. Sessions said the deal would grant a future amnesty for illegal immigrants who haven’t even arrived in the U.S. yet, so those who can get into the country by June “can’t be deported.”
“This amendment — plain as day — will invite a mad rush of illegality across our borders,” he said, according to his remarks prepared for delivery. “The obvious intent of this amendment is to lay the groundwork for a mass amnesty— an amnesty which would likely benefit illegal aliens who are not even in the United States today.”
The deal Mr. Sessions was referring to was struck late Wednesday by top Democratic leaders and a handful of Republicans rebelling against Mr. Trump as they search for a solution to illegal immigrant “Dreamers.”
That plan would provide citizenship rights for perhaps nearly 2 million illegal immigrants in exchange for a $25 billion trust fund for President Trump’s border wall. But it does not make a significant dent in the chain of family migration, nor does it eliminate the Diversity Visa Lottery — both conditions Mr. Trump has set for any bill.
Perhaps most strikingly, though, the last page of the 64-page plan appears to effectively halt immigration enforcement against most illegal immigrants who are here now, or who are able to get into the country by June 30.
The bill reads: “In carrying out immigration enforcement activities, the secretary shall prioritize available immigration enforcement resources to aliens who … arrived in the United States after June 30, 2018.”
Originally it said Jan. 1, 2018, but that part was struck out and the future date was penned in, suggesting the choice was deliberate.
The plan is being sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, but has eight Republican co-sponsors.
A request to Mr. Schumer’s office for comment late Wednesday was not returned.
Mr. Schumer defended the bill on the Senate floor Thursday morning — though he didn’t address the future amnesty provision.
Instead he described the bill as a tough sell for both sides.
“Compromise is compromise. Democrats and Republicans will find provisions they don’t want, wouldn’t include if they had written,” he said.
He pointed to the wall funding as something he objected to, but was willing to swallow in exchange for the amnesty.
Mr. Schumer said if Mr. Trump rejects the bill, as he’s indicated he would, he will take the blame for lapse of protections for Dreamers.
“If President Trump rejects another bipartisan compromise there is no question the American people will blame President Trump and no one else,” the New York Democrat said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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