President Donald Trump was skeptical Sunday that a tentative agreement with Democrats to halt a planned deportation sting will pan out.
Just one day after pressing pause on the deportations “at the request of Democrats,” Trump again reversed course. The president said that deportations will begin in two weeks, but he sounded less optimistic about striking a deal with Democrats than a day earlier.
I want to give the Democrats every last chance to quickly negotiate simple changes to Asylum and Loopholes. This will fix the Southern Border, together with the help that Mexico is now giving us. Probably won’t happen, but worth a try. Two weeks and big Deportation begins!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2019
Trump sours on deal with Dems
Trump has often complained about loose “catch and release” immigration policies that allow frivolous asylum claims to back up immigration courts, leaving migrants to escape detention and settle in America indefinitely while their claims are being processed. In that light, the president announced last Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”
But the president confused many supporters when he abruptly called off the plans on Saturday. In a tweet, Trump laid out an ultimatum for Democrats, saying they must work with him to reform America’s immigration laws to eliminate loopholes or else deportations will begin in two weeks.
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
Many supporters were disappointed and puzzled by Trump’s abrupt delay, which some saw as a cave to Democrats. Trump’s deferral to the “request of Democrats” was particularly hard to justify, given the Dems’ ruthless obstruction of his agenda and their continued efforts to sabotage his presidency with investigations and baseless allegations of impeachable wrongdoing.
But on Sunday, Trump’s optimistic tone appeared to fade. The president reiterated that Democrats have two weeks to find a solution, but added that a bipartisan deal “probably won’t happen.”
Is Trump caving, or being sabotaged?
Since issuing his deportation threat, Trump has appeared loath to follow through. In his tweet Sunday, Trump pointed to an agreement with Mexico to stiffen immigration enforcement, together with the still-elusive bipartisan legislative solution, as a two-part “fix” to the border crisis.
Indeed, Trump has repeatedly hailed his June agreement with Mexico to toughen immigration enforcement in recent weeks. The deal calls for more asylum seekers to remain on the Mexican side of the border while their claims are processed. Mexico also agreed to crack down on drug smuggling and human trafficking; in return, Trump called off tariffs on Mexican goods and promised to speed up asylum claims.
But part two of his immigration “fix” may not come so easy. It’s not clear what made Trump think that Democrats in Congress, after ruthlessly obstructing his immigration agenda for almost two years — including a no-holds-barred effort to block money for a border wall through a bitter and lengthy government shutdown — would suddenly see reason in just two weeks.
In fact, given the extreme unlikelihood of a bipartisan solution from Congress to the border crisis, Trump’s choice to delay the planned sting led many to wonder if Trump was serious when he threatened to deport “millions” of illegal immigrants.
Opposition to Trump may also be coming from within his own Cabinet. Trump administration officials have accused acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kevin McAleenan of thwarting Trump’s ICE raids by leaking the plans last week. According to Fox, the raids were planned as far back as April, but McAleenan has opposed them from the beginning.
Republicans in Congress haven’t been much help, either. Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a $4.6 billion humanitarian aid bill last week to address the migrant crisis, but only after agreeing to block any provision that would divert funding to the wall.
The crisis continues
Trump’s delay came after Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called him Friday night asking him to delay the raids. The House speaker left no room for doubt that the Democrats would take advantage of any softening on Trump’s part and thanked Trump for the delay in a Saturday tweet, calling for “comprehensive immigration reform” — a code-word for amnesty — and adding, “Families belong together.”
Trump’s hesitation comes as illegal immigration reached a 13-record in May, with 133,000 illegal immigrants apprehended at the border. Meanwhile, newly released data from DHS revealed last week that hundreds of migrants in the Central American “caravans” had criminal histories.
Trump won’t be getting any help from Democrats to address this crisis — and he may have to take a close look at his own Cabinet, too. Is he the only one in Washington who sees reason?
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