‘Shithole’ epithet turned immigration debate into new Trump drama

For some immigrants, the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program last September made clear that the Trump administration wants to put them at risk of deportation.

In a tweet on Friday, Trump denied using the word “shithole”, but Durbin insisted that the president had indeed said it.

During a Thursday meeting with lawmakers on immigration reform, Trump demanded to know why the U.S. should accept citizens from what he called “shithole” countries, according to comments first reported by the Washington Post.

The tentative deal also addresses border security, including a border wall, the diversity visa lottery and so-called chain migration, a program by which USA green-card holders can sponsor other family members for permanent residence in the country.

The reported comments angered among Democrats and Republicans and revived questions about Trump’s tendency to make racially charged remarks.

The lawmakers had hoped Trump would back their accord, an agreement among six senators evenly split among Republicans and Democrats, ending a monthslong, bitter dispute over protecting the “dreamers”.

South Carolina Republican Sen. The legislation would also provide a 12-year path to citizenship for most DACA participants.

Information for this article was contributed by Jill Colvin and staff members of The Associated Press, and by Martin Weil and Clarence Williams of The Washington Post. One said lawmakers in the room were taken aback by Trump’s remarks.

So here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to prepare our bipartisan agreement for introduction into the Senate next week.

“He couldn’t even go to the White House without bringing his daughter and his son-in-law with him – well, guess what – that’s the way businesses work and that’s how families thrive in America”, Gutierrez told reporters Tuesday night.

Gabriela Garcia, a 29-year-old DACA recipient who is now a law student at the University of San Francisco, similarly calls the decision “a little ray of hope” in the midst of a tumultuous period for immigrant rights, but warns it is not a true fix. What Democrats have done by allegedly leaking Trump’s comments is to ensure meaningful bipartisan negotiations never happen again. He said that if Trump can’t support it, “it’s hard to see how we could get him to agree to anything that could pass in Congress“.

“I don’t think we can give somebody an A- or any kind of an A unless they have some congressional victories – and they’ve not had that yet”, he points out.

Adding to the chaos is the January 19 funding deadline that could lead to a government shutdown if Democrats withhold their votes until an immigration bill is passed, as they have vowed to do.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told CNN flatly he couldn’t imagine supporting anything the group came up with.

And, the Senate’s Republican Whip John Cornyn announced the No. 2s in the House and the Senate, including Durbin, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the Democratic House Whip Steny Hoyer would take the lead in negotiations rather than the bipartisan group.

“I would call upon the president to go back to his campaign promise, the one that lived and existed January 20 of past year, which was to end DACA”, said King, who met with Trump to discuss the issue in December.

The Republicans, however, are finding themselves in a precarious position.

Many conservatives would balk at providing “amnesty” to parents who brought their families across the border illegally. Still, frustration is brewing that Republicans aren’t doing better after winning control of the White House and Congress in 2016, “Somehow Chuck Schumer still gets to dictate, “Oh, I get $60 billion more in non-defense spending, and I get to determine”.

The ads call on these 34 members to demand Speaker Paul Ryan hold a vote. Democratic votes are needed to advance such legislation, but top Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of NY won’t agree to a budget deal unless DACA is dealt with first. David Perdue of Georgia, both Republicans, lauded Mr. Trump’s efforts to hammer out the scope of the negotiation while giving both sides a chance to say their piece.