Can DACA dialogue survive Trump’s talk?

Connecticut’s Democratic lawmakers universally condemned President Donald Trump for his inflammatory description of impoverished nations with immigrant populations in the U.S., but remain hopeful a deal can be reached to protect DACA Dreamers.

Trump on Thursday threw a wrench into an emerging bipartisan compromise on extending legal status for youthful immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. At a White House meeting with senators of both parties, he referred to nations of Africa as well as El Salvador and Haiti as “s—hole countries,” and wondered why the U.S. couldn’t attract more immigrants from Norway.

Trump’s remarks “are disgraceful and racist,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro. “Immigrants from all over the world deserve our respect. Most are valued members of our communities, and they do not deserve to be disparaged by anyone, let alone the president.”

“The president has made an agreement more difficult with his blatantly racist comments that appeal to the vilest and darkest instincts on immigration issue,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “His odious and insidious racism demeans America. But as with so many other issues of policy, we may need to work around him rather than directly with him.”

Blumenthal, DeLauro and other Democrats are attempting to link the fate of 800,000 youthful beneficiaries of the Obama-era Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals — 8,000 in Connecticut — to a spending agreement that must be reached by Jan. 19 to head off a government shutdown.

Trump and Republican congressional leaders have demanded that an extension of DACA, which Trump canceled in September, must be conditioned on construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Democrats say a wall is expensive and unnecessary.

A possible compromise authored by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was under discussion when Trump made the remark.

“His comments were disgusting, but not surprising,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. “Nobody was shocked to hear the president said that.”

The compromise reportedly would restore legal status to DACA recipients and give them a 10-year path to citizenship. Also it would provide $2.5 billion for a combination of border wall and fence construction, as well as additional surveillance technology and border agents.

The agreement also sought to address the visa lottery system, which has been used to draw in immigrants from Africa and other underdeveloped nations. This part is what set Trump’s incendiary remarks in motion.

While not supporting it outright, Murphy and Blumenthal had positive things to say about the DurbinGraham compromise.

“It’s gotten fire from the right and the left, which means it’s probably the right temperature,” said Murphy.

But there may be a Catch-22, Murphy added. Trump said at a White House meeting Tuesday that he would sign what Congress sent him and was leaving it up to lawmakers to hash out details.

No compromise is likely to pass the more conservative GOP-led House without Trump’s approval, though. And with his use of derisive language at the Thursday meeting, it’s an open question whether the compromise can be resuscitated.

“This would be a hardfought compromise,” Murphy said. “But it can’t go too much farther in Trump’s direction without losing a whole bunch of Democrats.”