The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trump backs effort to save ‘Dreamers’
President ties move to ‘massive’ border security.
An unexpected
WASHINGTON — meeting of the minds between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders on Thursday made real a possible deal in Congress to pair enhanced border security with legislation to protect young, unauthorized immigrants brought to the country as children.
One day after Trump hosted Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi for dinner at the White House, the president said he could support legislation to protect the young immigrants known as “Dreamers” from deportation if it were accompanied by a “massive” border security upgrade. Acceding to a key Democratic demand, Trump said such a package did not need to have funding for a border wall.
It was the second time this month that a tentative agreement announced by Democrats left Republican leaders in Congress scrambling to adjust a legislative agenda that appears increasingly set by the party out of power in the House, the Senate and the White House.
“We’re working on a plan for DACA,” Trump told reporters, referring to protections for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, as he prepared to leave the White House for a visit to hurricane-ravaged Florida. He added, “The wall will come later.”
Republican leaders at least sounded open to pursuing a deal.
“We’re not going to bring a solution to the floor that does not have the support of President Trump,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters. But if Trump does support an immigration package that includes “security and enforcement,” he said, so will “a majority of our members, because our members support President Trump.”
Still, Ryan made his frustration clear.
“The president understands he has to work with the congressional majorities to get any kind of legislative solution,” he said.
Trump’s comments, at a time when Republicans had hoped to focus on rewriting the tax code, came amid a chaotic day of back and forth on Capitol Hill over what, precisely, had emerged from Wednesday’s White House dinner — and where Trump’s newfound alliance with the Democrats might lead. On Thursday morning, the president telephoned Republican leaders to relay news of the dinner discussions; Republicans were left on the defensive, and seemingly flummoxed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued a curt statement saying he and his colleagues “look forward to receiving the Trump administration’s legislative proposal,” while Ryan called Wednesday night’s talks “a discussion, not an agreement or a negotiation.”
Leaving the issue in Trump’s hands could prove beneficial for Republicans, ridding them of a difficult job. A person familiar with the discussions said McConnell welcomed Trump being the Republicans’ point man on immigration after the two presidents before him failed to come up with a plan and the party remained split on how to deal with the issue.
Some Republican lawmakers openly welcomed Washington’s newly changed immigration landscape.
“I think President Trump has a chance to be on immigration what President Nixon was on China; he has a lot of credibility on the issue,” said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “I think if the president recommended a solution to Congress and the American people, they might very well accept it.”
However, many Republican lawmakers fear that Trump, who has not had a background in crafting legislation, might end up signing a bill written by Democrats, which would infuriate many conservative voters. Some conservatives pushed back hard.
Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., a member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said a wall on the southern border was “what the
whole election was about.” He added that any bill that offers legal status to unauthorized immigrants would send the wrong message.
Earlier this month, Trump announced he would phase out DACA, begun by President Barack Obama, but would give lawmakers six months to come up with something to replace it. The program benefits about 800,000 young immigrants, including those brought to the United States illegally as children, and others who have overstayed their visas.
But at this point, any legislative proposal on the so-called Dreamers may have to come from the minority party — a highly unusual situation in a Congress where Republicans control both legislative chambers, with a Republican in the White House.
In Florida, Trump said flatly that any package would not offer a path to citizenship, and added that he intended to work with Republicans as well.
“No, we’re not looking at citizenship,” Trump said. “We’re not looking at amnesty. We’re looking at allowing people to stay here. We’re working with everybody — Republican. We’re working with Democrat. I just spoke with Paul Ryan, he’s on board. Everybody is on board. They want to do something. We’re not talking about amnesty. We’re talking about — we’re talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and were not brought here of their own volition.”
In an unscripted moment on the Senate floor Thursday, Schumer was caught on a microphone sounding enthusiastic about the Democrats’ new comity with Trump.
“He likes us; he likes me anyway,” the Democratic leader was overheard saying. He went on: “Here’s what I told him, I said, “Mr. President, you’re much better off if you sometimes step right and you sometimes step left. If you have to step just in one direction, you’re boxed. He gets that.”
But while Schumer and Pelosi were reveling in their seemingly newfound clout, they faced misgivings from their left and from Hispanics, who worry that the fate of young immigrants is now paired with a push for increased border security.
“Why are we discussing border security?” asked Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez, D-Ill. “I thought we were discussing DACA. So already you see the slippery slope of the conversation.’’
He added, “I hope and pray that Pelosi and Schumer are more sophisticated and smarter than everyone else that’s been duped by Donald Trump.”