Thread: Trump rules out citizenship for Dreamers, digs in on border wall as hard-liners fume

Trump rules out citizenship for Dreamers, digs in on border wall as hard-liners fume at 'Amnesty Don'

Todd J. Gillman, Washington Bureau Chief
September 14, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ruled out citizenship for young immigrants facing deportation in six months, under pressure Thursday from hard-liners who accused him of embracing amnesty in a deal he cut with Democrats.

The deal won't include funding for a controversial border wall, though as the day wore on and fallout mounted, he projected increasingly tough stands on border security and so-called Dreamers — the nearly 800,000 immigrants brought into the country illegally before age 16.

By day's end, Trump asserted that he won't cave on demands for a wall, and will insist on "extreme security" before putting his signature on a measure to codify the Obama-era policy he rescinded nine days earlier, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

"DACA now and the wall very soon, but the wall will happen," the president declared.

That was after a day of backlash from conservatives, and evolving and contradictory statements from the White House over Trump's stance on key immigration policies and even on whether any deals had actually been struck.

The uproar began Wednesday night. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer left dinner at the White House crowing that Trump had agreed to set aside a fight over wall funding to focus on the plight of DACA recipients.

News of a deal between Trump and Democrats left immigration hard-liners furious, especially since he apparently got nothing — at least yet — to show for it in return, and went around Republicans in the process.

Republicans control both the House and Senate. Many were miffed, especially because Trump bypassed them only last week on a budget deal.

Trump has sent mixed signals over the last week on whether he intends to hold the future of Dreamers hostage to his own dream of a massive barrier along the 2,000-mile frontier with Mexico. With his reputation and that signature campaign promise in the balance, the president scrambled to tamp down the uproar.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump initially denied striking a deal with Pelosi and Schumer. He emphasized his demands for more border security, even as he also highlighted the plight of Dreamers and his desire — shared widely in both parties — to protect them from deportation.

"No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent," Trump tweeted Thursday. "The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built."

Early last week, Trump scrapped the DACA program, which covers 124,000 people in Texas, and gave Congress six months to act before the young immigrants in the system start to lose work permits and become eligible for deportation.

Facing mutiny among Republicans, Trump insisted that nothing is final yet, his priorities remain intact, and GOP leaders are part of the talks — though GOP leaders indicated otherwise.

Still, only an hour or so after denying any deal with Democrats, Trump told reporters as he boarded Marine One that "we're fairly close" to a deal that would address DACA and also include "massive border security."

He added that House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are "very much on board" and that public opinion is with him.

That wasn't good enough for critics. Breitbart News, run by Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon, labeled him "Amnesty Don," and the #AmnestyDon hashtag erupted on Twitter.

Asked as he boarded Air Force One heading for a tour of storm damage in Florida whether he favors "amnesty," Trump shouted back: "The word is DACA."

'Responsible path' forward

En route to Florida, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters told reporters that Trump wants a "responsible path forward in immigration reform. That could include legal citizenship over a period of time."

One bill to provide permanent legal status, the DREAM Act, would allow these young immigrants to eventually apply for citizenship.

Trump soon ruled that out, however.

"We're not looking at citizenship. We're not looking at amnesty. We're looking at allowing people to stay here," Trump said on the tarmac after landing in Florida. "We're talking about taking care of people, people who were brought here, people who've done a good job."

And he added, "We'll only do it if we get extreme security, not only surveillance, but everything that goes with surveillance. If there's not a wall, we're doing nothing."

"DACA now and the wall very soon, but the wall will happen," Trump said.

He'd spent the flight to Florida mending fences with McConnell and Ryan, who insisted that the president has to go through him and the GOP caucus.

"It was a discussion, not an agreement or a negotiation," the speaker told reporters. "I think the president understands he has to work with the congressional majorities to get any kind of legislative solution."

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the deputy GOP leader, downplayed the idea that Trump could strike a binding deal with the two top Democrats. "There are 533 other members of Congress who I think are going to want to weigh in," he said.

Democrats' take

But on the Senate floor Thursday morning, Schumer said the president's statements only reaffirmed his and Pelosi's account of the impending deal.

"We all agreed on a framework: Pass DACA protections and additional border security measures, excluding the wall," he said. Details on border security remain to be negotiated, and both sides understood that the president will continue to push for the wall, and Democrats will oppose it.

"We'll never be for the wall. It's expensive. It's ineffective," Schumer said.

The wall has few ardent backers in Congress. Among them is Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, and he was adamant that the fight isn't over. "I refuse to talk about legalizing anybody until that border is secure. We have got to have a wall and we've got to secure it," he told Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Thursday night.

Other Republicans fumed at news he apparently went around them to cut a deal with Democrats on DACA. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley issued an unusual public plea that underscored annoyance at being kept out of the loop, asking Trump via Twitter to dispatch an aide to brief him on the deal.

Iowa Rep. Steve King asserted that a deal on DACA would destroy Trump's support, leaving his backers "disillusioned beyond repair.

But many Republican lawmakers, as well as Democrats, favor allowing Dreamers to remain in the country, though many stop short of calling for a path to citizenship.

Before Thursday, Trump hadn't said whether he would accept granting them citizenship. The White House said last week he views DACA's demise as leverage to squeeze border wall funding from Congress.

On Tuesday, White House legislative director Marc Short offered a nuanced approach, saying that while Trump views the barrier as a key element of border security, he won't necessarily demand it as part of legislation to address DACA.

That was Trump's approach Wednesday, at a meeting with 13 House centrists from both parties, and with Schumer and Pelosi.

Trump promised during the campaign to scrap the executive order on grounds that President Barack Obama lacked authority to alter immigration law. Texas and other states led by Republicans had threatened a court challenge that Trump's Justice Department was unwilling to fight.

Washington correspondent Katie Leslie contributed to this report.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/poli...-link-daca-fix

GOP bill will offer 2.5 MILLION Dreamers citizenship

"We're not looking at citizenship. We're not looking at amnesty. We're looking at allowing people to stay here," Trump said on the tarmac after landing in Florida. "We're talking about taking care of people, people who were brought here, people who've done a good job."

That is amnesty, Mr. President. Any plan that allows those that came here illegally to convert their status to legal is a forgiveness of their crime.

Originally Posted by MW

That is amnesty, Mr. President. Any plan that allows those that came here illegally to convert their status to legal is a forgiveness of their crime.

I totally agree with you! NO amnesty