Thread: Confusion over Trump's border wall delays spending talks

Confusion over Trump's border wall delays spending talks

01/03/18 08:43 PM EST



Senate negotiators say a lack of clarity from President Trump about his plans for a proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border is holding up talks to avoid a government shutdown.

Trump has demanded tougher immigration controls and more border-security measures in return for relief for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program recipients in the 2018 spending bill.

But Republicans and Democrats working on a possible immigration deal said Wednesday they're still waiting to receive Trump's specific demands for tighter border security to hash out a deal.

Republicans are now saying that a deal to fund the government might have to move separately from a bill that provides a DACA fix and tightens border security.

Democrats, however, say they extracted a concession from GOP leaders and senior Trump administration officials Wednesday afternoon to keep the spending and immigration talks linked as part of the same bargain.

The biggest question is whether Trump will insist on building a 2,200-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as he indicated in a recent interview with The New York Times, or whether he’ll settle for increased patrols and surveillance.

“That’s something we’re waiting on the White House to give us clarity on,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), one of the negotiators. “When you talk to [the Department of Homeland Security] and the other individuals, they talk about technology, they talk about personnel, they talk about physical barriers.

“The president has just said, ‘I call it wall.’ Everything is ‘wall.’ But I don’t think he really means 30-foot high wall for 2,000 miles,” Lankford added.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee plan to meet with Trump on Thursday to get a better sense of what border security needs must be met as part of an immigration deal.

Trump indicated in an impromptu interview with The New York Times last week that he would insist on a border wall in exchange for granting legal status to immigrants covered under the Obama-era program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA.

“I wouldn’t do a DACA plan without a wall. Because we need it. We see the drugs pouring into the country, we need the wall,” Trump told Michael Schmidt of The Times.

But negotiators are somewhat confused by what Trump means when he calls for a wall.

The president appears in his public pronouncements to be calling for a 2,200-mile solid structure while senior administration officials talk about the wall as more of a metaphor for tighter security.

“There will be wall components, not a 2,200-mile wall,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the negotiators, said before the Christmas break.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), one of the Democrats working on a prospective immigration deal, said the reason Trump hasn’t wanted to put his proposal for a border wall on paper is because it would appear unfeasible and draw opposition from fellow Republicans.

“It has been almost three months since we asked the administration to provide us with a specific border security proposal. Still, I haven’t seen it,” Durbin said.

“What do you think ‘the wall’ means? Nobody knows. When they’re forced to put it on paper they have a problem. It’s too expensive and it’s controversial and there are parts of it that Republicans don’t like so they’re afraid to write it down. But they’re holding us up.”

Now some senior Republicans are floating the possibility that the 2018 spending deal will move separately from immigration legislation.

Government funding runs out on Jan. 19 and Congress has until March 5 to come up with a solution to protect Dreamers from deportation.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (S.D.) said Wednesday that he doesn’t think the spending package will include the immigration legislation.

“I think that can be handled it separately,” he said. “On this one you’ve got health care extenders, tax extenders, you have disaster, 702, Alexander-Murray, you have a lot of moving parts,” referring to various provisions to extend expiring tax breaks, subsidize insurance companies, authorize intelligence surveillance and provide disaster relief funding that will be added to the fiscal year 2018 spending bill.

Thune said a prospective deal on Dreamers and border security probably won’t be done in time to add to the spending bill.

“I don’t think they’re anywhere close. That’s not ripe yet,” he said of a possible immigration deal.

But Democrats are pushing back hard on the notion that the omnibus spending package will move without a deal on immigration.

A Democratic leadership aide said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) agreed in a Wednesday afternoon meeting that the fate of Dreamers will be part of the broader talks on spending.

“The four leaders and White House officials agreed to keep negotiating a bipartisan budget agreement to lift the defense and non-defense caps, a DACA and border agreement, a health care package, as well as a disaster aid bill,” the aide said.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney and legislative affairs director Marc Short also attended the Wednesday meeting.

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3...spending-talks

There's a 70 point list of demands that was provided to Chuck and Nancy 2 months ago.

One minute Trump seems resolute on what he wants for a DACA deal and the next he doesn't. I would be a liar if I said I wan't concerned that he may end up accepting a lot less for a DACA amnesty deal than he has led us to believe.

The majority of us on ALIPAC don't want to see an amnesty deal, period, end of story. However, there are folks out there that would find an amnesty deal acceptable if it were to include E-Verify, end of chain migration, end of visa lottery, and border wall funding. Okay, I can accept and understand their rationale on such a deal because in the end the actual numbers would be to our advantage. With that said though, what's not acceptable to anyone from 'our' side is to make a deal that only includes token funding for more border surveillance and border technology. We tried the "virtual fence" thingy before with failing results. If Trump doesn't give us 'A' or 'B', I'm through with him.

A). No DACA deal.

B). End of chain migration, end of visa lottery, nationally mandated E-Verify program, and border wall funding.

In the 'B' category, I'm not talking about one or two of the items listed, I'm talking about the inclusion of every single item. Overall, I wouldn't be happy with any deal, however, I will accept option 'B' because we will win big on the overall numbers. End chain migration and their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins can't come based on relationship. Mandatory E-Verify will make it much tougher for employers to hire illegals, which in the end will cause many to return home and others not to come. End the visa lottery and we've made up for the 800,000 in approximately 16 years (50,000 a year). As for the border wall ...... no telling how many illegals and drugs it may prevent from crossing the border.

NO DACA DEAL, PERIOD.

There is no program or new amount of spending worth even 1 DACA or any other illegal alien being issued permission to remain in the United States. There is no reason for it. There are no benefits from it. None of these amnesties are in our national interest. They harm our national interest.

You need more boots on the ground, simply issue an EO acknowledging the rights of states and local law enforcement to enforce federal law and cut loose our 800,000 state and local police officers to enforce US immigration law without fear of reprisals or lawsuits from the federal government. They'll help US deport more illegal aliens in the next 3 years than 15,000 new ICE agents can deport in the next 40 years, and do so at a fraction of the cost. Most law enforcement officers want to do, they're itching to do it, they're trained to do it, they're armed, trained, equipped, sworn officers of the law and fully capable of enforcing these laws. Tell Sessions to likewise deputize magistrates to hold deportation hearings based on 2 simple questions:

1. are you a citizen of the US, yes or no
2. if no, do you have valid, unexpired documents to be in the US, yes or no
3. if no and no, then out you go.

It may not work in all states, but it will work in most states. Not all law enforcement agencies may want to do it, but most will. CUT 'EM LOOSE TO HELP US solve this problem and rid our nation of this mess, once and for all.

Oh, and tell Jeff Sessions to focus on deporting illegal aliens, not arresting Americans who use marijuana.

Originally Posted by Judy

NO DACA DEAL, PERIOD.

There is no program or new amount of spending worth even 1 DACA or any other illegal alien being issued permission to remain in the United States. There is no reason for it. There are no benefits from it. None of these amnesties are in our national interest. They harm our national interest.

You need more boots on the ground, simply issue an EO acknowledging the rights of states and local law enforcement to enforce federal law and cut loose our 800,000 state and local police officers to enforce US immigration law without fear of reprisals or lawsuits from the federal government. They'll help US deport more illegal aliens in the next 3 years than 15,000 new ICE agents can deport in the next 40 years, and do so at a fraction of the cost. Most law enforcement officers want to do, they're itching to do it, they're trained to do it, they're armed, trained, equipped, sworn officers of the law and fully capable of enforcing these laws. Tell Sessions to likewise deputize magistrates to hold deportation hearings based on 2 simple questions:

1. are you a citizen of the US, yes or no
2. if no, do you have valid, unexpired documents to be in the US, yes or no
3. if no and no, then out you go.

It may not work in all states, but it will work in most states. Not all law enforcement agencies may want to do it, but most will. CUT 'EM LOOSE TO HELP US solve this problem and rid our nation of this mess, once and for all.

Unfortunately our dreams must be based on reality, not fantasy.

It's a shame you don't see your criticisms in the same way.

NO DACA DEAL. This is not "fantasy", it's the fvcking .... law.

If passed, a supposedly narrowly crafted amnesty for DACA will be full blown amnesty in time. The voting results from illegal aliens turned citizens and legal immigrants who will vote democrat will continue to change our country forever.

There can be no amnesty. Nose under the tent with DACA.

Amnesty begins immediately, the word goes out to the world, more rush in, our borders are not secure and the tens of thousands will continue to come in to the United States. They sit, they wait, democrats will be in charge amnesty blooms wide open for all.

YES!! That's absolutely right, GeorgiaPeach. NO DACA DEAL. NO AMNESTY. NO WORK PERMITS. NO "LEGALIZATION". NO "DEFERRED ACTION". NO TPS. Shut all this nonsense down. SHUT IT DOWN. JUST SAY "NO". The world won't come to an end. Our country will get better, we can start healing, fixing, repairing, upgrading, earning, studying .... Get all this riff raff out of our country and set our poor Americans who have been suffering in "limbo" for DECADES because they couldn't find a good job because some immigrant or illegal alien stole it from them.

SHUT IT ALL DOWN NOW!!

Originally Posted by Judy

Oh, and tell Jeff Sessions to focus on deporting illegal aliens, not arresting Americans who use marijuana.

As head law enforcer in the country, I suspect multi-tasking is a necessity. I would be hopeful Sessions would enforce all our written laws ..... not pick and choose which laws to enforce and which ones not to enforce.