Trumps rejects bipartisan immigration bill
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan immigration proposal surfaced Monday in the Senate, only to be quickly knocked down by President Donald Trump via Twitter. Firing back, one senator pushing the narrowly focused compromise said Trump’s “unconstructive engagement” has hurt congressional efforts to strike a broader deal.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Chris Coons, D-Del., said their legislation would provide a pathway to legal status — potentially including citizenship — for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children, known as Dreamers.
It would also require the government to strengthen border security by 2020, but stops short of specifically providing the $25 billion Trump wants for a U.S.Mexico border wall.
“Any deal on DACA that does not include STRONG border security and the desperately needed WALL is a total waste of time. March 5th is rapidly approaching and the Dems seem not to care about DACA. Make a deal!” Trump tweeted.
The Dreamers have been protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, created by former President Barack Obama.
Trump has said he’s terminating the program but given Congress until March 5 to renew it, though a federal judge’s temporary order preserving DACA has left that deadline’s impact murky.
Trump has proposed offering a route to citizenship for up to 1.8 million young immigrants.
He would also reduce the types of relatives legal immigrants can sponsor for citizenship — including excluding their parents, a sticking point — and eliminate a lottery that provides visas to people from diverse places like Africa.
In a conference call with reporters, Coons said tackling a wider bill has “gotten more politically complicated” because of Trump’s “unconstructive engagement on immigration.”
Coons said he was referring to Trump’s use of a vulgarity last month to described African nations.
Coons said Trump’s push to limit legal immigrants’ relatives is the “most divisive and difficult” of his proposals.
Coons said he believed his plan with McCain would protect around 1.8 million to 2 million young immigrants. It would create a road to legal status for Dreamers who arrived in the U.S. by the end of 2013.
In a further blow, the proposed compromise received a cool reaction from moderate senators. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said it lacked sufficient border security provisions while Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, cited Trump’s opposition and said it wasn’t “a viable vehicle.”