House Republicans officially unveiled their new immigration bill Tuesday, calling for illegal immigrant families caught sneaking across the border to be held together in Homeland Security facilities.
Parents charged with felonies would still be sent to jail and separated from children, but those who face misdemeanor charges for illegally entering the U.S. would be held in the immigration system, which is able to accommodate parents and children.
GOP lawmakers added those provisions in at the last minute to try to boost prospects for their bill, which aims to grant illegal immigrant “Dreamers” a pathway to citizenship while also building President Trump’s border wall and curtailing the chain of family migration.
The bill was released late Tuesday evening, just as Mr. Trump arrived on Capitol Hill to talk it over with House Republicans.
“We have an historic opportunity to pass the most significant border security and immigration reform legislation in over a decade,” said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the bill’s chief sponsor.
Also sponsoring the bill was Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and two key moderate Republicans, Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Jeff Denham.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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