Politics

Cory Booker’s New Immigration Plan Would Sidestep Congress

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Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s immigration plan announced Tuesday would sidestep Congress and drastically change U.S. immigration policy through executive orders.

“But we can’t wait for Congress to act, which is why, as president, Cory will start on Day One to end the abuses of the Trump Administration and use his executive authority to reform our immigration system,” a statement on Booker’s presidential campaign website reads.

NEW: I’m introducing a plan to fix our broken immigration system—without Congress. https://t.co/PFCuvn4yOg pic.twitter.com/d8hyHlZjYG

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) July 2, 2019

Booker’s plan isn’t wildly different from those of other 2020 candidates, but it is one of the most detailed, according to The Associated Press. Tenets of Booker’s plan include steps to:

• “Virtually eliminate our nation’s reliance on immigration incarceration, including ending the use of for-profit detention facilities.”
• “Stop treating immigrants as criminals [because] criminal prosecution of improper entry has been used by the Trump Administration as a basis for the separation of thousands of families.”
• End the Trump administration’s travel ban of several Muslim-majority countries.

Booker’s plan would also squash a Trump administration proposal to make it easier to deport immigrants who are deemed “public charges” because they rely on government assistance.

The release of Booker’s plan coincides with MoveOn.org’s #CloseTheCamps protest planned for the district offices of members of Congress. It also comes days after his participation in the first round of Democratic presidential debates that showed how far left nearly all of the candidates are when it comes to immigration policy.

For example, all 10 candidates on stage at Thursday night’s debate raised their hands when asked if undocumented immigrants should receive health coverage.

Booker is polling in the single digits among Democratic primary candidates, but he was praised for a solid performance at the first round of Democratic debates, reported the AP.