--- title: Donald Trump Won't Allow 'Chain Migration.' What's That? description: "CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration!" the President Donald Trump said. What is chain migration? canonical: https://time.com/4943340/donald-trump-daca-what-is-chain-migration/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-15T14:25:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:51:41.753Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Won't Allow 'Chain Migration.' What's That? og:description: Under current U.S. policy, admitting one immigrant can set off a chain reaction og:url: https://time.com/4943340/donald-trump-daca-what-is-chain-migration/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85e1bcaf6b9ca9fc/6988ddec0a4a227b399cfe89/donald-trump-charlottesville-both-sides-antifa-racism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump Departs White House For Florida og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Won't Allow 'Chain Migration.' What's That? twitter:description: Under current U.S. policy, admitting one immigrant can set off a chain reaction twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85e1bcaf6b9ca9fc/6988ddec0a4a227b399cfe89/donald-trump-charlottesville-both-sides-antifa-racism.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says He Won't Allow 'Chain Migration.' What's That? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=74baf1b3-20c2-4f44-b65f-d53ff7db8069&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump: 'If We Don't Have the Wall We're Doing Nothing' [Watch (HLS stream): Trump: 'If We Don't Have the Wall We're Doing Nothing'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jUOl0zkf.m3u8) (0:58)  _Published 2017-09-14. “We’ll only do it if we get extreme security, not only surveillance but everything that goes with surveillance,” he said Thursday. “If there’s not a wall, we’re doing nothing,” he added, speaking of his campaign promise to build a new security wall a_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 15, 2017 2:25 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 15, 2017 2:25 PM UTC As President Donald Trump wrestles over the details of a DACA [deal with Democrats](http://time.com/4942123/donald-trump-daca-dreamers-democrats-deal/), he gave an assurance to conservatives Friday morning. “CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration!” the President tweeted. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/908676979561570304) Chain migration is the process by which one immigrant is admitted to the country, then he or she sponsors relatives back home to come to the U.S., who in turn could sponsor more relatives. In other words, under current U.S. immigration policy, admitting one immigrant to the country who can sponsor family members can set off a chain reaction that swells immigration numbers. Trump’s tweet came as he and Democratic leaders are trying to pin down details of an immigration deal that could grant protections for Dreamers, certain people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Democrats are pushing the President to support the DREAM Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. But some conservatives have warned that this would set off a massive chain migration process. “If you replace DACA with the DREAM Act, that will be 3 million plus,” the Federation for American Immigration Reform tweeted. After chain migration it will be the biggest amnesty in modern history.” > [](https://twitter.com/FAIRImmigration/status/908334616586670083) “The problem with any amnesty is that it serves as a magnet for new illegal immigrants, and its recipients could become the next link in chain migration if granted legal status or especially citizenship,” [wrote](http://www.nationalreview.com/article/451405/donald-trump-schumer-pelosi-immigation-daca-deal-mistake) the editorial board of the conservative publication _National Review_. Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia have introduced their own immigration bill, [the RAISE Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/354), which would cut legal immigration by half and excise adult children and siblings from the chain, only allowing pathways for spouses and minor children of people admitted to the country. ## Transcript We are looking for extreme border security and surveillance, everything else. We also have to get the wall. It doesn't have to be here, but they can't obstruct the wall, whether it's in a budget or something else, when we're ready for- [ CROSSTALK ]. We're not looking at amnesty, we're looking at allowing people to stay here, we're working with Everybody, Republican. We're working with Democrat. I just spoke with Paul Ryan. He's onboard. Everybody is onboard. They wanna do something. We're not talking about amnesty. We're talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and were not brought here of their own volition. But very importantly, what we want, we have to have a wall. If the wall is going to be obstructed when we need the funds at a little bit later date, we'll be determining how much we need. Then we're not doing anything. [ INAUDIBLE ] And ultimately, we have to have the wall. If we don't have the wall, we're doing nothing. 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