Donald Trump presents his new immigration plan based on "merit"

After years of setbacks and stagnation, the President Donald Trump will present another immigration plan on Thursday in order to convince the American public and lawmakers that it is necessary to reform the current system.

The White House has decided to focus only on redesigning the legal immigration rules, without addressing the situation of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States or the limbo in which find young people called "dreamers".

The new initiative, promoted by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and advisor, focuses on border security and changing the current system of "green cards" (permanent residence cards for immigrants) to favor highly qualified people. having a university career and having already received job offers, and not close to those who are already in the United States.

Trump is due to deliver a speech Thursday in which he will express his support for the plan, which provoked mixed reactions among Republican senators. The initiative will face opposition in Congress, and the chances of reaching an agreement on such a controversial issue during an election period are not very promising.

Senior government officials believe the plan could benefit from the unified support of Republicans, giving the party a roadmap they could subscribe to. The plan does not say what to do with people living without permission in the United States, including the so-called "dreamers," whom immigrants brought into the country when they were children. However, many outside the government believe that the White House could be open to a possible agreement that may include new protections for this group.

On Wednesday, at a press briefing attended by dozens of journalists, government officials said that the plan could create a points-based visa systemsimilar to that applied by Canada and other countries. Officials asked to remain anonymous to outline the plan before Trump made his statement.

The United States would allocate the same number of green cards as it has to date, but a much larger number would be delivered to exceptional students, professionals and people with technical degrees. Other factors that will be taken into account are the age, proficiency in English and job offers.

A much smaller number of green cards will be awarded to people with parents in the United States. Visa lottery for diversity could be eliminated, which offers green cards to citizens of countries with low historical immigration rates in the United States.

Officials gave little details on border security, but said the government hoped to create a fund, funded by increases in certain fees, and leverage available resources to modernize security and entry points. .

The government aims to reform the asylum system to reduce the number of applications to be processed and to facilitate the deportation of people who do not meet the requirements.

This is not the first time that the White House Trump presents a plan for immigration. A proposal "four pillars" presented last year failed because of lack of support from Republicans. This time, the presidential residence badumed a more active role and drafted the text for the legislature.

On Wednesday, Trump again reported the arrival of undocumented or less skilled immigrants, although there is no evidence to support this claim.

"I do not think most countries send us their best citizens, that's what's happening and it's a huge problem in terms of crime," Trump said in a speech to close to deceased policemen.

The text of Trump's legislative proposal will not be made public this Thursday, but "later", although the goal is to approve it before the presidential elections of 2020.

It remains to be seen, however, that the plan can get a vote of the Democratic opposition, and at least one Republican Senator, Susan Collins, has already shown her skepticism about a plan that does not resolve the situation of "dreamers" ", undocumented They came to Canada when they were children.

(With information from AP and EFE)