President Donald Trump may be fuming about illegals walking across the border and claiming refugee status, but his son-in-law wants to increase legal immigration.
Trump said Monday that the United States has “the worst, dumbest immigration system in the world,” but Jared Kushner has been quietly preparing a scheme to bring in more legal immigrants to fill job vacancies, Politico reports.
Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell listens while US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before a meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill March 26, 2019, in Washington, DC. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
The apparent disconnect demonstrates the divergence between what Trump has called a border crisis and a national emergency and the apparent need by some businesses to import workers. As Politico notes, Trump has repeatedly said that he doesn’t oppose legal immigration and has even applauded Canada’s merit-based system as one the U.S. should adopt, he said. (RELATED: Border Patrol Chief Agrees With Trump That There Is A Border Crisis)
White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (R) and Ivanka Trump (L) attend a meeting held by US President Donald J. Trump with members of his Cabinet, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, March 8, 2019. (Photo by Michael Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
Stephen Miller, a Trump adviser who represents a more conservative approach to immigration, is watching Kushner’s progress with great interest and some criticism. According to sources close to Politico, he will see Kushner’s report before the president does and his opinion will affect how Trump reacts to his son-in-law’s immigration advice.
One of the organizations that has met with Kushner is the Federation for American Immigration Reform. According its government relations director, R.J. Hauman, “The president must remember that he was elected to implement an immigration system that serves national interests, not business interests. A plan to increase overall immigration is nothing more than a handout to businesses so they don’t have to compete for American workers and raise wages.”