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Immigration Advocate Predicts "Skinny" Immigration Bill

National Immigration Forum

The head of an immigration advocacy group yesterday (Monday) predicted the U.S. Senate would take a winding road before deciding on changes to federal immigration law.

Ali Noorani is the executive director of the National Immigration Forum. He spoke last night at a public forum at Whitworth University.

Whitworth President Beck Taylor asked Noorani to guess how the Senate debate that began Monday would turn out.

“I think we’ll go from an initial proposal that balances dreamers and border to something wider, which the president would like to see. Dreamers, border, limits to family immigration and elimination of diversity visa," Noorani said.

"The left, or even moderate Republicans, would like to see more expansive treatment of dreamers in other parts of the community. So go from skinny to wide," he said. "I don’t think we’ll get to 60 (votes in the Senate) on something wide and then we’ll end up slimming back to skinny and hopefully something that balances dreamers and border security.”

Noorani says his group focuses its advocacy on three groups that are conservative politically, but open to immigration: evangelical Christian, law enforcement and business groups.

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