WASHINGTON — A group of House Republicans is pushing President-elect Donald Trump to keep in place Obama administration protections for about 750,000 young illegal immigrants, joining with Democrats on legislation to extend a shield on their deportations for another three years.

The legislation, introduced Friday, is a companion to a Senate measure advanced by Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Both bills signal bipartisan unrest over Trump’s campaign pledge to reverse President Barack Obama’s executive orders on deportations, which include protections for adults brought to the U.S. by their parents when they were children.

While Trump has since said he wants to deport criminals who are illegal immigrants and has promised some solution for the younger immigrants known as “Dreamers,” he has provided no specifics about his intentions.

“The time to act on this is now,” Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, said of the proposed extension. “This sends a strong message not just to our leadership but to the incoming administration.”

He was joined by two Florida Republicans — Ileana Ros Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo — on legislation also led by Democrats who seek aid for the immigrants, including Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. All three of the Republicans are from House districts that have heavy concentrations of Latino voters and they all overcame re-election challenges where they had to contend with Trump’s campaign promises on immigration. Trump’s pledges included building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and returning 11 million undocumented immigrants to their home countries.

The young immigrants at issue provided information including fingerprints and relatives’ home addresses when they applied for protection under the president’s 2012 executive order.


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