Sessions lauds Trump's immigration policy: 'This is exactly the plan America needs'

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spars with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) over the impact the proposed immigration reforms will have on the domestic job market.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, on Sunday praised Donald Trump’s newly-released immigration policy paper, calling it “exactly the plan America needs.”

Trump’s plan, which can be read in full on his campaign website, is built on a foundation of three “core principles.”

1. A nation without borders is not a nation. There must be a wall across the southern border.

2. A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced.

3. A nation that does not serve its own citizens is not a nation. Any immigration plan must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans.

The policy paper lays out Trump’s plan to compel the Mexican government to pay for a fence along the U.S. southern border.

Mexico must pay for the wall and, until they do, the United States will, among other things: impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages; increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats (and if necessary cancel them); increase fees on all border crossing cards – of which we issue about 1 million to Mexican nationals each year (a major source of visa overstays); increase fees on all NAFTA worker visas from Mexico (another major source of overstays); and increase fees at ports of entry to the United States from Mexico [Tariffs and foreign aid cuts are also options]. We will not be taken advantage of anymore.

The plan calls for the number of immigration enforcement officers to be tripled, seeks to implement a nationwide e-verify program, mandates the deportation of all criminal aliens and “defunds” so-called sanctuary cities, among other provisions.

It also touts Trump’s desire to “put American workers first.” The plan would push U.S. companies to hire American citizens by increasing the prevailing wage paid to immigrants in the U.S. through the H-1B visa program. It also calls for the overall flow of legal immigrants to be slowed, which Trump believes will reverse the country’s plummeting workforce participation rate.

“This is exactly the plan America needs,” said Sen. Sessions. “Not only would the plan outlined in this paper work, but more quickly than many realize. Most importantly, this plan reestablishes the principle that American’s immigration laws should serve the interests of its own citizens. For too long, ‘immigration reform’ plans in Washington have served the special interests at the expense of working Americans. By contrast, this plan puts the needs of working Americans foremost, and develops an effective strategy for improving their wages and job prospects. Crucially, this plan includes an emphasis on lifting struggling minority communities, including our immigrant communities, out of poverty — by preventing corporations from bringing in new workers from overseas to replace them and drive down wages. When the labor market is oversupplied, it tilts the balance of power away form workers and towards employers. In combination with a smart, fair trade policy this proposal would reinvigorate the middle class. Polling shows this plan will appeal broadly to all segments of the electorate: prioritizing the just demands of loyal, everyday Americans who have been shunned by a governing elite.”