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Trump Says DACA Is ‘Dead,’ and Calls on Mexico to Enforce Border Security Trump Says DACA Is ‘Dead,’ and Calls on Mexico to Enforce Border Security
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump declared on Monday that a plan to protect young immigrants from deportation is “dead” and repeated his calls for Mexico to enforce border security laws and prevent immigrants from coming to the United States illegally. WASHINGTON — President Trump declared on Monday that a program shielding a group of young undocumented immigrants from deportation — which he moved to scrap last fall — is “dead,” and then blamed Democrats for failing to salvage the protections.
In a series of tweets Monday morning, Mr. Trump again referred to “large ‘Caravans’ of people” headed toward the United States. “DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon,” Mr. Trump said in one of a series of morning tweets on the matter. It was his second consecutive day of using Twitter to rail against the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, charging that it was being exploited amid lax border security.
The “caravans,” a popular topic on Fox News, are a group of hundreds of Central Americans who have been traveling through Mexico with the goal of crossing into the United States to seek asylum, or sneak across the border. A BuzzFeed reporter has been traveling with the group and chronicling the experience. Later, surrounded by children on the South Lawn of the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll festivities, Mr. Trump lashed out again about the program, saying that Democrats had abandoned the undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children and have benefited from DACA.
Mr. Trump’s tweets were a continuation of his Easter Sunday Twitter posts in which he blamed Democrats and the Mexican government for the illegal flow of immigrants into the United States. They come at a time when conservative commentator Ann Coulter has been critical of Mr. Trump for abandoning his base and not fulfilling his campaign promise about border security. “The Democrats have really let them down, they’ve really let them down,” Mr. Trump said in response to a question shouted by a reporter, as young children crowded around him at a picnic table where he was signing their artwork. “They had this great opportunity, and Democrats have really let them down — it’s a shame.”
Two hours later, Mr. Trump tweeted that Mexico “is making a fortune” on the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. “Now people are taking advantage of DACA,” Mr. Trump went on. “It should have never happened.”
The president was venting about the failure of bipartisan talks to enshrine DACA’s protections in law. The negotiations became necessary after Mr. Trump moved last fall to end the program, which had been created unilaterally by former President Barack Obama.
Those deliberations have gone nowhere despite Mr. Trump’s stated willingness to provide a path to citizenship for nearly two million undocumented immigrants who could be considered eligible for the program. Democrats offered last month to provide $25 billion for the border wall that Mr. Trump advocates, in exchange for such an extension, but White House officials rejected the deal, demanding additional measures to curb legal and illegal immigration.
But in referring to people “taking advantage of DACA,” his advisers said, the president was also alluding to a misperception perpetrated by human smugglers — and believed by many Central American migrants — that as part of its efforts to salvage the program, Congress may soon agree to legislation that allows people who cross illegally into the United States to remain without consequences. The notion has taken hold during a season when migration flows from Central America to the United States typically accelerate, according to officials familiar with Mr. Trump’s thinking, who described it on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to do so on the record.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security lashed out in February against a bipartisan proposal to codify DACA protections that they said would have eviscerated immigration enforcement for people arriving in the United States before June 2018. The measure included a provision directing the department to prioritize the removal of “criminal aliens,” people posing a national security threat and people entering the country illegally after June 30.
Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, briefed Mr. Trump on the migration situation last week after returning from a trip to Mexico to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto and other top Mexican officials, the advisers said, and was concerned by what he heard.
That was part of the reason Mr. Trump spent part of his Easter Sunday complaining on Twitter about “caravans” of immigrants heading north toward the United States-Mexico border, they said. But the posts also came after the Fox News Channel, the president’s favorite, reported on a group of hundreds of Central Americans that has been traveling through Mexico toward the United States, where some hope to seek asylum or sneak across the border.
On Monday, Mr. Trump again referred to “large ‘Caravans’ of people” headed toward the United States, and repeated his calls for Mexico to enforce border security laws and prevent immigrants from coming to the United States illegally.
Mr. Trump’s tweets come a little more than a week after he grudgingly signed a $1.3 trillion spending bill that did not include funding for the border wall, prompting bitter complaints from some conservatives who have criticized him for abandoning his campaign promises of tougher border security. The conservative commentator Ann Coulter has been critical of Mr. Trump, arguing that he has been deserting his base on the matter.
Mr. Trump also tweeted Monday that Mexico “is making a fortune” on the North American Free Trade Agreement, or Nafta.
Mexico’s foreign secretary, Luis Videgaray Caso, responded on Twitter on Sunday and defended his country’s cooperation with the United States on border security.Mexico’s foreign secretary, Luis Videgaray Caso, responded on Twitter on Sunday and defended his country’s cooperation with the United States on border security.
The president on Monday blamed Democrats for weak immigration policy and called on Congress to act, tweeting that “our country is being stolen.” The House and Senate — both controlled by Republicans — are in recess and return next week. The president on Monday blamed Democrats for weak immigration policy and called on Congress to act, tweeting that “our country is being stolen.” The House and the Senate — both controlled by Republicans — are in recess and return next week.
Mr. Trump’s declaration that “DACA is dead” is a reference to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protected hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation. The president’s position on the program is a moving target. Mr. Trump ended the program last year, but courts have blocked his decision. He has also said that he would sign a bipartisan proposal to protect the young immigrants, but he regularly threatens Democrats that there will be no deal.
The president’s position on the program is a moving target. Mr. Trump ended the program last year, but courts have blocked his decision. He also has said that he would sign a bipartisan proposal to protect the young immigrants, but he regularly threatens Democrats that there will be no deal. Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Trump tweeted, “Remember DACA, the Democrats abandoned you (but we will not)!”
Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Trump tweeted, “remember DACA, the Democrats abandoned you (but we will not)!” The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Monday that the president had made offers about the immigration policy.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said on Monday that the president has made offers about the immigration policy.
“He wanted to see something get done, and Democrats refused to actually put something on the table or work with the president to get anything done,” Ms. Sanders said. “They wanted to use DACA recipients as political pawns.”“He wanted to see something get done, and Democrats refused to actually put something on the table or work with the president to get anything done,” Ms. Sanders said. “They wanted to use DACA recipients as political pawns.”
Representative Mike Coffman, Republican of Colorado, said on Sunday that the president’s announcement on DACA comes at a bad time.Representative Mike Coffman, Republican of Colorado, said on Sunday that the president’s announcement on DACA comes at a bad time.