Trump pushes immigration plan as Senate mulls narrower path
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was on a collision course over immigration yesterday with US senators, including some within his own party, as they grasped for a solution protecting 1.8 million immigrants from deportation.
With senators racing against a self-imposed end-of-the-week deadline to strike a deal, Trump demanded the chamber rally around his proposal, which puts the "Dreamer" immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children on a pathway to citizenship — but severely curtails legal immigration.
Trump's hard line was imperilling the prospects of a deal, as he urged senators to oppose a series of bipartisan efforts, including one gaining traction.
The president's plan protects Dreamers and boosts border security funding, but also abolishes the diversity visa lottery and restricts family reunification, a policy Trump calls "chain migration."
In a statement, the president urged all senators to support his measure and "oppose any legislation that fails to fulfill these four pillars – that includes opposing any short-term 'Band-Aid' approach."
The remark brought action in the Senate to a standstill, with no votes on actual immigration legislation, despite assurances by leadership that an open-ended floor debate on the issue would take place this week, with both sides invited to offer amendments.
"Here we are on Wednesday, and we're off like a herd of turtles," sneered Republican Senator John Kennedy. "Nothing's happened."
Lawmakers for months have struggled to craft a compromise after Trump scrapped a program that allowed Dreamers to stay, and gave Congress until March 5 to find a solution.
Some 690,000 Dreamers registered under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — plus 1.1 million others who were eligible but did not sign up — could begin to face deportation by that date if no fix is in place.
Top Republicans said Trump's plan has the best shot at becoming law out of those being considered.
But Democrats have panned it, making it highly unlikely that it would garner the 60 votes necessary to advance in the 100-member chamber.