The Trump campaign swiftly denounced President Joe Biden’s proposal to protect 550,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation and offer them a path to citizenship. They characterized the plan as a large-scale amnesty scheme aimed at securing votes.
Karoline Leavitt, the national press secretary for the likely Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, criticized the White House’s Tuesday announcement, referring to it as a “mass amnesty order.”
Leavitt stated, “President Biden’s primary concern is maintaining power. This is why he is offering mass amnesty and citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who are likely to support him and the Open Border Democrat Party in future elections.”
According to Biden’s proposal, any undocumented immigrant who has resided in the U.S. for at least ten years as of Monday and is married to a U.S. citizen will have three years to apply for a green card. They will also be granted a temporary work permit and protection from deportation.
Leavitt argued that Biden’s amnesty plan would lead to several negative consequences. “This mass amnesty initiative will inevitably result in an increase in migrant-related crimes, impose millions of dollars in costs on taxpayers, overwhelm public services, and divert Social Security and Medicare benefits away from American seniors to support undocumented immigrants. These are programs that Americans have contributed to throughout their working lives,” she asserted. “Through this mass amnesty order, Biden has effectively issued another invitation for illegal immigration.”
The Trump campaign’s response highlights their belief that Biden’s immigration policy prioritizes expanding his political base over national security and economic stability. They argue that such policies will place an undue burden on public resources and the American taxpayer, while potentially increasing crime and compromising benefits meant for U.S. citizens. The debate over immigration continues to be a polarizing issue, with both sides presenting starkly different visions for the future of America’s immigration system.