Trump seeks border wall, crackdown on unaccompanied minors

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump, who pledged to help protect young people known as ‘Dreamers’ brought illegally to the United States as children, called for money to fund a border wall to be part of any immigration deal.

In a list of ‘principles’ laid out in documents released by the White House, the Trump administration also pressed for a crackdown on unaccompanied minors who enter the United States, many of them from Central America.

The plan, which was delivered to leaders in Congress, drew a swift rebuke from Democrats, who are seeking a legislative fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that Trump ended last month.

“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,” said House of Representatives Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the president

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. House of Representatives statement

was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so,” they said in a statement.

The Trump administration wants the wish list to guide immigration reform in Congress and accompany a bill to replace DACA, the Obama-era program that protected nearly 800,000 ‘Dreamers’ from deportation and allowed them to secure work permits. If enacted, the White House priorities could result in the deportation of Dreamers’ parents.

The proposals emphasize immigration enforcement and include a request for funds to hire 370 more immigration judges, 1,000 attorneys for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, 300 federal prosecutors and 10,000 additional ICE agents to enforce immigration laws.

“These priorities are essential to mitigate the legal and economic consequences of any grant of status to DACA recipients,” Trump’s legislative affairs director, Marc Short, told reporters on a conference call. The White House made clear it would not be pushing for Dreamers to achieve US citizenship, only legal status, in a potential deal.

Trump told Congress it had six months to come up with legislation to help Dreamers, who are a fraction of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, most of whom are Hispanic.

The documents call for tighter standards for those seeking US asylum, denial of federal grants to ‘sanctuary cities’ that serve as refuges for illegal immigrants, and a requirement that employers use an electronic verification system known as ‘E-Verify’ to keep illegal immigrants from securing jobs. — Reuters