Trump prods Congress on immigration debate No citizenship question on census:
‘It’s now or never’
WASHINGTON, Feb 13, (Agencies): President Donald Trump warned Tuesday that it’s now or never when it comes to extending protections for young immigrants who have stayed in the country illegally.
Trump, in an early-morning tweet, said Congress must act now to provide legal protections to young “Dreamer” immigrants even as legislation faces an uncertain prospect in Congress.
Trump was referring to a deadline he announced last year to end a program protecting young immigrants from deportation. But a recent court ruling has rendered that deadline all but meaningless.
The comments came the day after the Senate voted 97-1 — Ted Cruz, R-Texas, provided the sole “no” vote — to plunge into an open-ended immigration debate that’s been promised by McConnell. Both parties’ leaders hope debate can be concluded this week, but it’s unclear if that will happen or what the product, if any, will be.
“This is going to be done or not done this week,” No. 2 Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas told reporters.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, threw his weight behind a wide-ranging bill that mirrors Trump’s approach. It would pave a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million young “Dreamer” immigrants in the US illegally, a lure for Democrats that many Republicans oppose. Trump also wants $25 billion for Trump’s border wall with Mexico and other security measures, as well as curbs on legal immigration — a must for many Republicans.
Supporters describe the measure as the Senate’s best shot of passing a bill that the president will sign. McConnell’s endorsement is key for generating Republican support, but many Democrats consider some of the proposals, including limiting the relatives that legal immigrants can bring to the US, to be non-starters.
Leading up to the debate, the Senate’s two top leaders put on a show of comradery, but also laid down markers underscoring how hard it will be to reach a deal that can move through Congress.
But just days after the two leaders brokered a bipartisan $400 billion budget agreement and helped shepherd it into law, both men made clear that an immigration agreement will be tough.
But Schumer has expressed repeated opposition to Trump’s sweeping approach.
“The only enemy here is overreach,” Schumer said. “Now is not the time nor the place to reform the entire legal immigration system. Rather, this is the time for a narrow bill” — which Democrats have said would help the Dreamers and provide some money for border security.
Trump’s overall immigration plan, opposed by many Democrats, stands little chance of prevailing because any measure will need 60 votes. That means proposals will need substantial bipartisan support since the GOP majority is 51-49, and Sen John McCain, R-Ariz, has been absent in recent weeks battling cancer.
But Sen Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, one of the lawmakers who introduced a bill based on Trump’s plan, described it as a “best and final offer” and said there’s no room for negotiations.
He told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” Tuesday morning that Congress has just two options: “the president’s framework bill or nothing.”
Sen Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, also proposed a modification of the bill late Monday that he painted as a potential compromise.
Highlighting the partisan gap, there was plenty of finger-pointing on Monday.
A coalition of state attorneys general on Monday urged the US Department of Commerce to not add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census, saying it could lower participation among immigrants and cause a population undercount.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a letter sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The letter said they were opposing a request by the US Department of Justice to add the question, and that it would chill “participation in the 2020 census by noncitizens and naturalized citizens alike” over fears about confidentiality and possible data-sharing.
Deputy mayor resigns:
The deputy mayor of a New Jersey town has resigned after comparing immigrants to rabid raccoons on Facebook.
The Daily Record reports Republican Rick Blood resigned late Monday as deputy mayor of Mendham Township.
Blood deleted the post Sunday and wrote an apology.
Blood said at the beginning of Monday’s Township Committee meeting that he did not intend to resign, but was met with opposition from angry residents. He apologized again, saying his “bonehead” decision to post the rant had put the committee in a difficult position.
Mexico detains hundreds of migrants:
Mexican authorities detained more than 500 undocumented migrants over the weekend, mostly Central Americans trying to reach the United States, many of them risking their lives, officials said.
Many of the migrants, who were detained in six different operations, were being trafficked by smugglers in unventilated trucks with no food or water.
More than 200 others were found crammed into six “safe houses” used by criminal gangs in the state of Tamaulipas, which borders the United States.
They had paid their traffickers up to $4,000. More than 100 of the migrants in that group were minors.
The detentions come as immigration across the southern US border is at the center of a political firestorm in Washington.