Senator David Perdue Discusses Immigration Debate On PBS & NPR

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) spoke with Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHour and Ari Shapiro on NPR’s All Things Considered about theSecure and Succeed Act, legislation he has co-sponsored that mirrors President Trump’s immigration framework which resolves DACA, strengthens border security, eliminates the visa lottery, and ends extended-family chain migration.

Click here to watch the PBS interview or click on the image below.

Highlights:

Growing Support: “We’ve had 30 years of debate on the immigration issue. Democrats and Republicans at various points in time actually supported the principles laid out by President Trump in this bill. There has actually been late-coming support for this proposal. Senator Alexander and Senator Isakson have endorsed this bill.”

President’s Support: “President Trump has endorsed this proposal. We’re hopeful others will see the framework the President laid out—and what we have in this bill—actually meets the needs the Democrats have been asking for.”

Ending Incentives: “Three or four of the principles President Trump is talking about have general agreement. There is room on both sides of the issue of family-based immigration for us to get the solution we are all looking for, to end the environment that incentivizes people to bring their young children here which created the DACA situation. This would also allow us to close loopholes that let terrorists use our immigration system against us.”

Common Solution: “President Trump has been very clear for a long time about his position. He wants a solution to the problem that caused the DACA situation and he wants the DACA situation resolved. He’s gone further than any Republican ever thought that he would. We support that and believe there is enough commonality in the Senate that if everyone looks at these different principles, we’ll be able to get to a common solution.”

Click here to listen to the NPR interview or click on the image below.

Highlights:

Permanent Solutions: “President Trump stepped in and said let’s resolve the DACA problem by giving these young people a pathway and certainty. He also said we don’t want to be back here in four or five years doing the same thing with another generation of people who were brought in illegally.”

Providing Certainty: “This is a very good solution for the DACA population. It also provides certainty for the future of our borders and fixes the archaic, 50-year old immigration system that has not served us economically or socially.”

Balanced Deal: “I’m an outsider, a business guy, and I’ve done big deals before. Deals that get done have to be symmetric. This deal is symmetric. When you look at the DACA solution and then a way to end the things that created it, this becomes a very balanced proposition.”

Getting Past Politics: “At different points in the past, Democrats and Republicans have agreed to each facet of our bill that’s before the Senate today. If Congress can put partisan politics aside, I think we’ve got a proposition that could get done. I think at the end of the day it will.”