Doug Jones wants to reach a deal on DACA without funding Trump's border wall
Doug Jones wants to reach a deal on DACA without funding Trump's border wall
Dec 17, 2017, 10:17 AM
Alabama Senator-elect Doug Jones wants to work with congressional leaders to come up with a fix for illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children, but it can’t involve funding for a border wall.
Jones said on “Fox News Sunday” he’s ready to help come up with a compromise on the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program. That program is set to expire in March and Democrats are threatening to hold up funding for the government in order to get a deal on the program without funding President Trump’s wall along the Mexican border.
“I have said before that I opposed the building of a wall. I think that's an expense that the taxpayers just don't have to incur,” he said. “I do think you can increase our border security without having to go to the incredible expense of building that wall, at least the figures that I've seen. I do support the DACA program and would love to see that extended. I hope there can be some bipartisan effort to reach to do that.”
Jones said one of the reasons he wanted to run for office is he didn’t see anyone in Washington willing to make a deal and reach across the aisle.
That’s what he plans to do on immigration and other issues, he said.
“It's hard to talk in hypotheticals because right now you haven't seen anybody really kind of trying to reach those compromises,” he said. “What I'm seeing up there is you draw a line in the sand and you haven't had an opportunity to reach. I'm going to consider anything.”
He added he doesn’t plan on labeling himself as a progressive Democrat or a conservative Democrat, but he’ll be a “Doug Jones Democrat.”
“I have resisted trying to put labels on myself. People are going to do that left and right. I've tried to resist that. I'm going to continue to resist that,” he said. “I'm going to be a Doug Jones Democrat for sure. I'm going to be looking at issues on both sides. I will do what I believe is in the best interest of both the country and my state.”
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/do...rticle/2643757
