DREAMERS and DACA
The young people on DACA, the children of illegal immigrants who came here through no choice of their own, got on that program by committing no crimes and know that violating this agreement means they will be deported. I fully support these young men and women getting a path to citizenship for themselves and their families. However, I do not support this being a policy going into the future.
Family Unification, aka "Chain Migration"
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 allows for family members of a person who immigrated to the United States to sponsor family members to come on Immigration Visas if they fit certain criteria. I’m in favor of the law as it currently stands.
Refugees
People who come to the United States as a refugee are coming from nations with massive hardships and are selected through a lottery system. They go through the toughest vetting system in the world which lasts between one to two years. In the last 40 years not one person who has come from the refugee program has been involved in an act of terrorism. I’m in favor of allowing refugees into the country and helping them get back on their feet until such time they feel they are ready to go back home.
Sanctuary City Policies
There has been a lot of talk in the past few years about something called "Sanctuary Cities". A "Sanctuary City" has no clear legal definition, but the general principle is that the police force in a city will not ask about the immigration status of a person but will cooperate with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in helping them apprehend and arrest anyone here illegally who has, or is in the process, of breaking any additional laws.
Cities decide that prioritizing local law enforcement services on catching criminals is more important than deporting people. In return immigrant communities are more likely to help the police catch dangerous criminals who live in the area.
Philadelphia has designated itself as one a Sanctuary City. Despite this, there has been no marked increase in crimes from immigrant communities, both legal or otherwise.
I will not sign onto any bills to take money away from Sanctuary Cities or punish them. It is the job of federal law enforcement to enforce certain federal laws, and as long as local law departments cooperate with federal agencies I see no point in the federal government deal with a local law enforcement issue.