Trump may soften his immigration stance
The US presidency under Donald Trump has disturbed such a hornet’s nest in its initial weeks that every time he takes a next step there is fear, apprehension and disgust. In his first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, however, Trump defended his tumultuous presidency and said he was eager to reach across party lines and put aside “trivial fights” to help ordinary Americans. He called upon Congress to work with him on overhauling health care, changing the tax code and rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure and military. Only hours before his address, Trump had broken from his tough immigration stance in remarks at the White House, suggesting that legal status be granted to millions of undocumented immigrants who have not committed serious crimes. But in his address to Congress he made only a glancing reference to an immigration overhaul, calling for a new “merit-based” system that would admit only those able to support themselves financially.
Significantly, he drew a distinction when he said: “As we speak, we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens.” “Bad ones are going out as I speak tonight and as I have promised.” Evidently, a softening of US stand on immigration which should benefit Indian professionals may be in the offing. The American president’s remarks about immigration came as he prepares to issue a new version of his executive order banning travel to the United States from seven predominantly Muslim countries and suspending the acceptance of refugees. The ban has been revised because of legal challenges. Clarifying the immigration issue further Trump’s deputy Press secretary Ms Sanders said: “The President has been very clear in his process that the immigration system is broken and needs massive reform, and he’s made clear that he’s open to having conversations about that moving forward,” Ms. Sanders said. “Right now, his primary focus is border control and security at the border and deporting criminals from our country, and those priorities have not changed.”
President Trump made no mention of an array of challenges abroad, including Syria, North Korea and Russia. Nor did he criticise the “fake news” media. He did pledge his full support for NATO after questioning the need for the alliance, and argued that his demands that nations contribute more money to NATO had paid off. Overall it was a seemingly mellowed president though the proof of the pudding would lie in its eating.