President Donald Trump is expected to make a proposal on Monday, offering citizenship to 1.8 million illegal immigrants in exchange for billions of dollars in border wall funding.According to Politico.com, White House adviser Stephen Miller outlined the new framework in a phone call to Oval Office surrogates and Capitol Hill staffers. Trump’s deal would let former recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – commonly called “Dreamers” – pursue citizenship, but only if Democrats are willing to concede funds for an improved barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.In addition to Dreamers, Trump says, an additional million undocumented immigrants who didn’t apply for DACA but otherwise met its requirements could be offered a pathway toward citizenship, too.But the sweet-sounding deal comes with another catch, albeit one less concrete than a wall – on top of finding funds to curb illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, Democrats would have to enact further restrictions on legal immigration, too.Miller said the offer represents “a compromise position that we believe […] will get 60 votes in the Senate” and “a framework that ultimately will lead to passage of a law.”Upon hearing the news, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed optimism, hoping lawmakers “will look to this framework for guide as they work towards an agreement.”But, as Politico.com writes, not everyone in Congress shares the same thankfulness toward President Trump and his sudden suggestion. Democrats, the website notes, blasted the framework on Thursday, even as some Republicans timidly claimed displeasure.“We cannot allow the lives of young people who have done everything right to be used as bargaining chips for sweeping anti-immigration policies,” said Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, saying it was “shameful” that the White House would beg “such extreme concessions.”Dreamers – former beneficiaries of the Obama-era DACA program – are all young adults who arrived illegally to the United States as children. While not permitted permanent residency under the confines of the program, DACA allowed them to seek out semblance of security. In exchange for obtaining employment, a minimal level of education, and passing a criminal background checks, Dreamers could receive renewable two-year employment and residency cards.However, the program was formally rescinded by President Trump in September. Despite the commander-in-chief expressing some moral support for Dreamers, Trump felt threatened by an impending lawsuit against DACA, led by a dozen conservative attorneys general.

Protesters in San Francisco rally following President Trump's decision to rescind DACA in September 2017. Image courtesy of Pax Ahimsa Gethen / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Just as Democrats have condemned the proposal as trading the fortunes of hundreds of thousands of young people for border wall funding, some conservatives have criticized the upcoming proposal as too liberal.Michael A. Needham, CEO of the Heritage Action, warned, “Amnesty comes in many forms, but it seems they all eventually grow in size and scope. Any proposal that expands the amnesty-eligible population risks opening Pandora’s box, and could eventually lead to a Gang of Eight-style negotiation. That should be a non-starter.”Along with requisitioning a $25 billion trust fund for an improved border wall, Trump’s proposal would also eliminate the U.S. diversity visa program (sometimes called the “Green Card Lottery”) and restrict some aspects of existing immigration policy. Among the administration’s top demands is the termination of so-called “chain migration” – the process by which the extended family of current immigrants and refugees can join them in the United States.

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Congress speeds toward shutdown over DreamersWhite House jumps back into Dreamer battle with citizenship offer