Pelosi insists on 'clean' DREAM Act amid Trump furor
Pelosi insists on 'clean' DREAM Act amid Trump furor
By Jesse Byrnes - 01/12/18 10:05 PM EST
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Friday called for Congress to pass a "clean" DREAM Act amid bipartisan backlash over President Trump's comments about immigrants from "shithole countries."
Pelosi said in a statement on Friday night that despite "the confusion of the last week," Democrats "must insist upon a clean DREAM Act."
“The bipartisan Senate proposal put forward by Senators [Lindsey] Graham [R-S.C.] and [Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] recognizes the importance of protecting our DREAMers," she said.
Democrats are seizing on Trump's reported comments calling Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations "shithole countries" during an Oval Office meeting with lawmakers on Thursday.
The remarks came amid a push for a bipartisan deal to protect young undocumented immigrants affected by Trump's decision to end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Immigrants under DACA had access to work visas to avoid deportation, though they did not have a pathway to citizenship, a key provision of the DREAM Act.
Trump's remark complicated bipartisan discussions on Capitol Hill for an immigration deal. Democrats have been pushing for a DACA fix ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline to fund the government, and Trump had been talking with lawmakers about an immigration agreement that also includes enhanced border security, among other measures.
The White House did not deny Trump's comment about "shithole countries" on Thursday, which was reported by multiple media outlets, though Trump on Friday tweeted that he merely used "tough" language in the meeting.
Graham and Durbin were part of a bipartisan group of six senators who announced earlier Thursday that they had clinched a deal to provide protections for so-called Dreamers, but faced pushback from Trump and GOP leadership.
A number of Democratic figures have called for Congress to pass a "clean" DREAM Act this week, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Kamala Harris (Calif.) as well as Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn).
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/36...id-trump-furor
