U.S. President Donald Trump has been challenged by a top Republican senator to make "a moral decision" on the fate of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children.
Speaking at the unveiling of a new iteration of legislation known as the 'Dream Act', South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham warned the president and his Republican colleagues that "the moment of reckoning is coming."
Graham was joined by Illinois senator Dick Durbin, who first introduced legislation of the same name 16 years ago. Their proposal will give legal status to citizenship to those immigrants who were longtime residents of the US.
But the White House has flatly ruled out the President supporting such a measure, reports the Guardian.
"The administration has opposed the Dream Act and we are likely to be consistent in that," said Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, in an off-camera briefing with reporters on Wednesday.
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Graham took on the President directly and call on him to take a concrete step.
"President Trump, you're going to have to make a decision. The campaign is over. The question for the Republican Party is, what do we tell people? How do we treat them?" Here's my answer: we treat them fairly. We do not pull the rug out from under them," Graham said.
The 2017 Dream Act roots for the undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.
In order to qualify for legal status the immigrants must pursue higher education, work lawfully for at least three years, or serve in the military and must also undergo a background check, show proficiency in English, and pay a fee.
Those convicted of a felony or other serious crimes would be ineligible.
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