A bill introduced in Congress Wednesday will address the pillars of immigration reform, and will serve as a "landmark" and the beginning of negotiations on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Rep. Michael McCaul, one of the bill's sponsors.
"If we're going to do DACA, conservatives get to get what we need," the Texas Republican, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program.
The bill, co-sponsored by McCaul and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, addresses the issues of chain migration, the Visa lottery system, and border security.
According to an opinion piece the two wrote for The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, along with GOP Reps. Raul Labrador and Martha McSally, the bill has several priorities, including providing $30 billion to build a border wall, to invest in new technology, and for works on ports of entry.
It also calls for more Border Patrol officers, and authorizes the National Guard to provide aviation and intelligence support.
The legislation also calls for a crackdown on immigrants who overstay their visas, and for a requirement that employers use the E-Verify system to ensure only legal workers are hired. The bill also calls for an end to chain migration and the Diversity Visa program, neither of which works on a merit-based system for immigration.
McFaul Wednesday admitted that any time immigration and the border are tackled, it becomes a "very, very difficult deal."
However, with President Donald Trump, "we have a commander in chief who is all in...he wants it to be bipartisan. The difference today is the political will in the White House to get this thing done and therefore I am optimistic."