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Donald Trump demands Congress fund border wall as price for keeping Dreamers Trump demands Congress fund border wall as price for keeping Dreamers
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The Trump administration has issued a list of hardline immigration demands that includes funding for a wall along the southern border and a crackdown on Central American minors as part of a deal to allow young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers to stay in the country legally. The Trump administration on Sunday issued a list of hardline immigration demands, including funding for a wall on the Mexico border and a crackdown on admittance of children from Central America, as its first move in negotiations for a deal to allow young undocumented migrants known as Dreamers to stay in the US legally.
Democrats immediately rejected the administration’s priorities as “far beyond what is reasonable”, setting up a likely showdown in the Congress as lawmakers are set to begin negotiations about Dreamers, the hundreds of thousands of young people brought to the country illegally as children. Democrats rejected the administration’s priorities as “immoral” and “far beyond what is reasonable”, setting up a likely showdown in Congress.
The list of principles, which were sent to Congressional leaders on Sunday night, called for withholding federal grants for “sanctuary cities” and limiting legal immigration by issuing fewer family-based green cards to spouses and the minor children of US citizens and lawful permanent residents. It also demanded the creation of a points-based system for migrants to gain entry to the US. Dreamers and groups who advocate for them also reacted with horror. Christian Ramirez, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC), said the decision to use Dreamers as a “bargaining chip” was “shameful”.
On a conference call with reporters on Sunday night, White House aides said the administration’s demands fulfilled the promises Donald Trump made during his campaign to clamp down on immigration and protect American workers. As president, Trump has taken a series of executive actions to restrict immigration that have included ramping up deportations and banning people and refugees from certain Muslim-majority nations from entering the US. The list of principles also called for withholding federal grants for “sanctuary cities” and limiting legal immigration by issuing fewer family-based green cards to spouses and the minor children of US citizens and lawful permanent residents. It also demanded the creation of a points-based system for migrants to gain entry to the US.
Last month, the Trump administration abruptly announced plans to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program established by the Obama administration that shielded the young people from deportation and allowed them m to work on renewable two-year permits. About 690,000 recipients are currently enrolled in the program, and their work permits are due to expire in March 2018. On a call with reporters, White House aides said the demands fulfilled campaign promises made by Donald Trump. As president, Trump has issued executive actions to restrict immigration that have included ramping up deportations and banning travelers and refugees from some Muslim-majority nations from entering the US.
Congressional Democratic leaders had previously been optimistic about striking a deal with Donald Trump that would protect the young immigrants. After a dinner with the president last month, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said they had agreed to consider bolstering immigration enforcement as part of a deal that codified the Daca program and gave the immigrants legal status. Last month, the Trump administration announced plans to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), a program established by the Obama administration that issued renewable two-year permits to people brought to the country illegally as children, shielding them from deportation and allowing them to work and attend school. About 690,000 recipients are enrolled in the program. The last such work permits are due to expire in March 2018.
“The administration can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans,” Schumer and Pelosi said in a joint statement. Congressional Democratic leaders had been optimistic about striking a deal. After a dinner with the president last month, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Nancy Pelosi said they had agreed to consider bolstering immigration enforcement as part of a deal that codified the Daca program and gave Dreamers legal status.
“The administration can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans,” Schumer and Pelosi said in a joint statement on Sunday.
“We told the president at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the Dream Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise.“We told the president at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the Dream Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise.
“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the president was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so.”“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the president was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so.”
The Democrats said the deal the discussed with the president did not include funding for a wall, which the party have repeatedly said is a non-starter. Trump has previously said that funding for the wall could be addressed separately and suggested that he did not expect it to be included in a Daca bill. Trump has previously said funding for the wall could be addressed separately and suggested that he did not expect it to be included in any Daca bill.
On the call, a senior administration official said the agreement between the president and Democratic leaders was mischaracterised. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a representative from New Mexico who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) condemned the decision to use the futures of hundreds of thousands of people to further White House policy goals.
“There was a deal to work on a deal as fast as possible,” the official said. “It is immoral for the president to use the lives of these young people as bargaining chips in his quest to impose his cruel, anti-immigrant and un-American agenda on our nation,” she said in a statement.
Democrats and immigration activists also want any deal to include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. On the call, the official said: “We are not interested in granting citizenship.” On the White House call, a senior administration official said the agreement between the president and Democratic leaders had been mischaracterised. “There was a deal to work on a deal as fast as possible,” the official said.
The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, an immigration hardliner who announced the rollback of the Daca program last month, welcomed the proposals, which he said “will restore the rule of law to our immigration system, prioritize America’s safety and security, and end the lawlessness”. Democrats and activists want any deal to include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. The White House official said: “We are not interested in granting citizenship.”
“These are reasonable proposals that will build on the early success of President Trump’s leadership. This plan will work,” Sessions said in a statement. “If followed it will produce an immigration system with integrity and one in which we can take pride. Perhaps the best result will be that unlawful attempts to enter will continue their dramatic decline.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an immigration hardliner who announced the rollback of Daca, welcomed the proposals, which he said “will restore the rule of law to our immigration system, prioritize America’s safety and security, and end the lawlessness”.
While Trump’s wish list will appeal to a number of conservative Republicans, some lawmakers in his party are wary of attaching sweeping reforms to a package that also protects these young immigrants. “These are reasonable proposals that will build on the early success of President Trump’s leadership,” Sessions said in a statement. “This plan will work. If followed it will produce an immigration system with integrity and one in which we can take pride. Perhaps the best result will be that unlawful attempts to enter will continue their dramatic decline.”
At a Senate hearing last week, Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who has proposed legislation to protect DACA recipients, warned: “If Congress has proven an extraordinary ability to do anything, it’s to fail at comprehensive immigration reform.” Bruna Bouhid, a Dreamer and spokesperson for the advocacy group United We Dream, said the list contradicted Trump’s past promises and showed immigration policy was being steered by Sessions and White House adviser Stephen Miller, not the president.
“With this wish list it’s pretty clear who is controlling the White House,” Bouhid told the Guardian on Monday, adding that United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the US, would continue to push for legislation to protect Dreamers.
Ramirez, director of the SBCC, noted that one out of five Dreamers live in border communities and would be directly impacted by more aggressive border patrols.
“The president has an obligation to act in the interest of the people of the United States and not in continuing to promote divisive policies that undermine our safety and fail to ignore the contributions of immigrants to our nation,” he said.
While Trump’s list will appeal to a number of conservative Republicans, some lawmakers in the party are wary of sweeping reforms.
At a Senate hearing last week, Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who has proposed legislation to protect Daca recipients, warned: “If Congress has proven an extraordinary ability to do anything, it’s to fail at comprehensive immigration reform.”