Exclusive - Trump takes hard line on immigration, rejects 'horrible' bipartisan plan

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Exclusive - Trump takes hard line on immigration, rejects 'horrible' bipartisan plan

By Ayesha Rascoe and Roberta Rampton

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday aligned himself solidly with conservative Republicans on immigration, criticizing a proposed bipartisan deal as "horrible" on U.S. border security and "very, very weak" on reforms for the legal immigration system.

 

The Senate proposal - aimed at addressing Democrats' demands for protections for young adults brought to the United States illegally as children and dubbed "Dreamers" - fell far short of what most Republicans believe needs to happen, the president said.

 

"It's the opposite of what I campaigned for," Trump told Reuters in an interview.

 

The plan was presented to Trump last week by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

 

Trump drew international condemnation after reports emerged that he had questioned the value of taking immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean nation of Haiti during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers at the White House last Thursday, referring to them as "shithole" countries.

 

Trump has denied using that word. Trump in the interview on Wednesday declined to say what specific words he used.

 

"I'm not going to get into what I said, but I will tell you, it was a tough meeting," Trump said.

 

Many Democrats have said they will not vote for spending legislation to keep the federal government funded past a Friday deadline without an immigration deal, and Republicans will need at least some Democratic votes to pass the funding extension in the Senate.

 

Trump said he thinks a deal on immigration is still possible. "Time is running out," he said.

 

Democrats said the negotiated plan addressed Trump priorities, including $2.7 billion for additional border security funding.

 

"The president can’t seem to take yes for an answer and is heading towards a shut down, which would fall squarely on his back," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

 

Trump said a federal government shutdown "could happen" at the end of the week, insisting Democrats would be blamed if that occurs even though Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

 

The White House has said it backs a short-term spending measure by a Friday deadline to prevent a shutdown.

 

"HE MEANT WELL"

 

Trump in September announced he was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that protects the Dreamers, which was begun by his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, effective in March. The program currently protects roughly 700,000 people, mostly Hispanic young adults, from deportation and provides them work permits.

 

Trump has said he is open to finding a solution to help the Dreamers. But he said he became unhappy when Graham and Durbin, who had told him they had a compromise on the Dreamers issue, presented the details.

 

But Ben Marter, a spokesman for Durbin, said on Friday that following an initial telephone conversation with Trump about the deal, the senator had been "encouraged" by Trump's reaction and had expected further progress on the legislation at a White House meeting that day.

 

Trump said he had called Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue and Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte to join that meeting at the White House, describing them as "smart guys, with more of a conservative bent, more of a bent like I have."

 

As Graham and Durbin began describing the deal, Trump said, it was immediately clear it would be unacceptable to most Republicans.

 

"It's horrible for the security of our country," Trump said, noting there was not enough funding for the wall he has promised to build on the U.S.-Mexican border, a project opposed by Democrats.

 

The proposal was "very, very weak" on curbing visas for extended family members of immigrants, and failed to end a diversity visa lottery program.

 

"Lindsey - he meant well - but I said, 'Well, how many Republicans agree with this?'" Trump said.

 

Trump blamed Durbin for leaking the language he used in the meeting, a disclosure that prompted critics to denounce Trump as a racist, an accusation he denied.

 

"I've lost all trust in Durbin," Trump said.

 

Trump campaigned for president in 2016 promising a hard line on immigration, including deporting all of the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country and a "total and complete shutdown" of the entry of Muslims into the United States. As president, he has signed three orders banning entry of most people from several Muslim-majority countries as well as rescinding DACA.

 

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Roberta Rampton; Additional reporting by James Oliphant, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Caren Bohan, Will Dunham and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-18

[USPatriot]

Good and the dems shut down the government in a tantrum.

The democeats are to busy defending illegals  that work for low wages and let their voters suffer.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2018 by USPatriot

[Becker]

22 minutes ago, USPatriot said:

Good and the dems shut down the government in a tantrum.

The democeats are to busy defending illegals  that work for low wages and let their voters suffer.

 

 

Oh really? I guess they'll pay in the midterms then....

[Slip]

1 hour ago, USPatriot said:

Good and the dems shut down the government in a tantrum.

The democeats are to busy defending illegals  that work for low wages and let their voters suffer.

 

 

The dems shut down the government?  This falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and the GOP.  Were you unaware that they control both houses?  That seems ill-informed even for a Trump supporter.

[thaibeachlovers]

Hope the Donald stands firm on this. If he gives in he's probably a gonner with his base.

I expect the Dems know that and will do everything they can to make him cave.

If he can't get the wall out of this, he probably never will, so I wouldn't envy him at his next mass gathering of the faithful.

For Trump, this is probably his make or break moment. Even the GOP will be trying to make him get nothing and give everything the Dems want, as they are worried about the midterms, and no doubt fear a shutdown.

Edited January 18, 2018 by thaibeachlovers

[ELVIS123456]

Dems and RINOs think they will gain something out of refusing to cooperate . What they dont realise is that Trump will win - again.

The American People have had enough of the Dems 'open door' policy - they know it is open because the majority vote for Dems.

Dems will lose more votes than they keep, by refusing to cooperate on DACA, and both illegal and legal migration.

 

[USPatriot]

5 hours ago, Becker said:

Oh really? I guess they'll pay in the midterms then....

We will see

[USPatriot]

3 hours ago, Slip said:

The dems shut down the government?  This falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and the GOP.  Were you unaware that they control both houses?  That seems ill-informed even for a Trump supporter.

Yes im fully aware and it is a deligation of 6.

 

The dems want amnesty. Its only one sided then so shut down the government.

 

A lot of the republicans are rinos and they will be voted out.

 

John McCain for one he might as well run as a democrat 

[buick]

4 hours ago, Slip said:

This falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and the GOP.  Were you unaware that they control both houses? 

this requires a vote of 60 in the senate, not sure about congress.  so the GOP doesn't have full control so to speak.  it has to be a somewhat bipartisan deal.  it can be confusing whether it is a simple majority (51 of the 100) or the 60.

 

edit:  i should add that this seems to be the normal course these days.  the only way the minority party gets anything is to block the spending approval.  then they get to slip something in 'for them'.  as i recall this tactic has been used by both parties in recent years.

Edited January 18, 2018 by buick

[Berkshire]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Hope the Donald stands firm on this. If he gives in he's probably a gonner with his base.

I expect the Dems know that and will do everything they can to make him cave.

If he can't get the wall out of this, he probably never will, so I wouldn't envy him at his next mass gathering of the faithful.

For Trump, this is probably his make or break moment. Even the GOP will be trying to make him get nothing and give everything the Dems want, as they are worried about the midterms, and no doubt fear a shutdown.

Speaking of "the wall," Trump's own Chief of Staff seems to contradict him to the extreme....

 

[White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly told Democratic lawmakers Wednesday that the US will never build a wall along the entire southern border and that Mexico won’t pay for what we do erect — refuting one of President Trump’s top campaign promises.]

 

https://nypost.com/2018/01/17/kelly-we-wont-build-all-of-trumps-wall-and-mexico-wont-pay-for-it/

 

[Srikcir]

Trump, the great deal maker that no one can understand.

"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Republicans are not sure what President Donald Trump wants in a DACA deal, and until he figures it out what the President supports, a deal cannot be made."

But let's blame any government shutdown on the Democrats.

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/01/17/mcconnell-what-is-trump-for-sot-daca-mattingly-nr.cnn

 

[ilostmypassword]

5 hours ago, buick said:

this requires a vote of 60 in the senate, not sure about congress.  so the GOP doesn't have full control so to speak.  it has to be a somewhat bipartisan deal.  it can be confusing whether it is a simple majority (51 of the 100) or the 60.

 

edit:  i should add that this seems to be the normal course these days.  the only way the minority party gets anything is to block the spending approval.  then they get to slip something in 'for them'.  as i recall this tactic has been used by both parties in recent years.

In this case, the minority seems to be a faction of extremely conservative republicans.

[PhonThong]

Just an example of the hypocrisy.  Need to judge for yourself. This is why the American public gets so upset. 

 

[Thakkar]

 

[ilostmypassword]

4 hours ago, PhonThong said:

Just an example of the hypocrisy.  Need to judge for yourself. This is why the American public gets so upset. 

 

And what has this got to do with DACA? Which virtually everyone, even a big majority of Republicans, acknowledge is a special case?

 

[buick]

17 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

In this case, the minority seems to be a faction of extremely conservative republicans.

democrat votes are required regardless of some of the 'rogue' republicans.  even if all republicans were in favor, the spending bill still wouldn't pass.  i doubt many democrats are going to vote in favor of the bill unless the majority of their party feel they get what they want.  so it is the minority party (democrats) dictating what they need to pass the bill.  just as republicans did during obama's tenure.

[PhonThong]

They were originally brought to the U.S. as illegals. Either the laws are enforced or they are not.  These two men say the law is the law. 

[Jingthing]

On 1/18/2018 at 10:34 AM, Slip said:

The dems shut down the government?  This falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and the GOP.  Were you unaware that they control both houses?  That seems ill-informed even for a Trump supporter.

Indeed it is.

IF the government does shut down, this will be the first time in U.S. history that has happened when one party controls majorities in all three branches of government. (Obviously the executive branch is only one person, in this case a horribly unqualified, ridiculous, mentally bizarre CLOWN of a man.) What that means quite simply is that republicans can talk a good game, but they are INCOMPETENT at GOVERNING.

Bring on the 2018 blue wave tsunami!

Edited January 19, 2018 by Jingthing

[thaibeachlovers]

22 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Speaking of "the wall," Trump's own Chief of Staff seems to contradict him to the extreme....

 

[White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly told Democratic lawmakers Wednesday that the US will never build a wall along the entire southern border and that Mexico won’t pay for what we do erect — refuting one of President Trump’s top campaign promises.]

 

https://nypost.com/2018/01/17/kelly-we-wont-build-all-of-trumps-wall-and-mexico-wont-pay-for-it/

 

Kelly can say whatever he likes, but he doesn't need to be elected in 2020. If Trump loses his base he may as well not bother in 2020.

However, he may just decide 4 years of abuse is enough and leave it to Pence to carry on.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, buick said:

democrat votes are required regardless of some of the 'rogue' republicans.  even if all republicans were in favor, the spending bill still wouldn't pass.  i doubt many democrats are going to vote in favor of the bill unless the majority of their party feel they get what they want.  so it is the minority party (democrats) dictating what they need to pass the bill.  just as republicans did during obama's tenure.

At least 3 GOP senators have said they will not support the spending bill, as of the last news item on the subject I saw.

[Berkshire]

5 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Kelly can say whatever he likes, but he doesn't need to be elected in 2020. If Trump loses his base he may as well not bother in 2020.

However, he may just decide 4 years of abuse is enough and leave it to Pence to carry on.

I get you.  Kelly can be truthful, but Trump has to keep lying his ass off.  This wouldn't normally work in the real world, but in Trump's wacky orbit, his supporters will believe pretty much anything. 

[mikebike]

17 minutes ago, PhonThong said:

They were originally brought to the U.S. as illegals. Either the laws are enforced or they are not.  These two men say the law is the law. 

Usually the law requires "intent". Do you believe that these children had an intent to become illegal? Or are we reduced to punishing the offspring for the crimes of the parents?

[thaibeachlovers]

43 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Usually the law requires "intent". Do you believe that these children had an intent to become illegal? Or are we reduced to punishing the offspring for the crimes of the parents?

Trump obviously will give in on DACA if the Dems give him the wall. He said so already. It's in the Dem's court now.

[Srikcir]

14 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

if the Dems give him the wall

The problem is "what wall?"

A bipartisan bill included $1.5 billion for a wall per se and other border security devices and systems. Although TRUMP said he would sign whatever bipartisan bill was presented to him, he reversed himself back to  most of his campaign pledge see - tweets. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42724380

Trump wants others to negotiate but only to his unwavering position in which Mexico still pays for the wall (someday).

Edited January 19, 2018 by Srikcir
add link

[mikebike]

17 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Trump obviously will give in on DACA if the Dems give him the wall. He said so already. It's in the Dem's court now.

Not all that "obvious" considering 45's history of reneging on contracts and contradictory statements on the subject.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, mikebike said:

Not all that "obvious" considering 45's history of reneging on contracts and contradictory statements on the subject.

The obvious thing to do then is for the Dems to support a bill that gives him the wall in exchange for DACA, and see what happens. Win win. Either they get DACA and he gets the wall, or he will rightly be tarred as a liar by everyone.

[mikebike]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The obvious thing to do then is for the Dems to support a bill that gives him the wall in exchange for DACA, and see what happens. Win win. Either they get DACA and he gets the wall, or he will rightly be tarred as a liar by everyone.

No, the obvious thing to do would be to remove the greasy politicking and pass a clean DACA bill then a clean immigration bill.

[PhonThong]

1 hour ago, mikebike said:

Usually the law requires "intent". Do you believe that these children had an intent to become illegal? Or are we reduced to punishing the offspring for the crimes of the parents?

Two presidents say it was wrong for them to come to the U.S.  Either you believe them or you don't.  I am not here to answer what their intent was. All I know is they have changed their tune since Trump became president. If you don't see that. Then it is time to get your head out of the sand.

[buick]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

At least 3 GOP senators have said they will not support the spending bill, as of the last news item on the subject I saw.

i think the key thing here is your comment 'as of the last news item on the subject i saw'.  this stuff can change by the hour so we can all be right depending on when we last checked the news !!!  my head is spinning so i'm just going to revise my original commentary to 'a spending bill requires 60 votes in the senate'.

[Bluespunk]

On 18/01/2018 at 6:34 AM, Slip said:

The dems shut down the government?  This falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and the GOP.  Were you unaware that they control both houses?  That seems ill-informed even for a Trump supporter.

Oh, I’m not sure about that. 

 

Seems about the norm for trump supporters.