Trump calls his immigration plan a 'down-the-middle compromise'


President Trump detailed his "four pillars" of immigration reform on Tuesday night during his first State of the Union address, claiming it was a "down-the-middle compromise and one that will create a safe, modern, and lawful immigration system."
The pillars include offering a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented young people brought to the United States as children; building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and hiring more border agents; ending the visa lottery; and ending chain migration, which he said "protects the nuclear family." Trump said the United States has "outdated" immigration policies, and needs more "merit-based immigration" with skilled people "who want to work and who will contribute to our society and who will love and respect our country."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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