Donald Trump ran his entire campaign based on doing SOMETHING about immigration. He promised to build a wall, send DREAMers home, end chain migration, and generally fix the immigration system to put Americans first. These apparently were not hard positions, but merely an opening salvo in a negotiation. He obviously wants a deal, but he also said he would love to see a shutdown if the Democrats don’t come around. In spite of his fluidity on the issue, many claim Trump is blocking a bipartisan deal, even though one of his four pillars at his first State of the Union address is a big part of exactly what Democrats claimed they always wanted:
“The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age — that covers almost three times more people than the previous administration.”
Why this matters: Trump’s position has already shifted, yet we are now witnessing Republicans like Sen. John McCain offering a bill that includes no capitulation by Democrats. That is not a bipartisan deal, that is a Republican collapse. Trump, like most Republicans, will accept a deal on DREAMers but McCain is not negotiating from the Republican position, in good-faith or in their favor.
The details:
— Trump’s four pillars on immigration reform are amnesty, security, no more immigration lottery, and no more chain migration.
— President Trump set a deadline for March 5th if the Congress can not pass a permanent immigration bill.
— Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly says there will be no extension to the DACA deal if no agreement is reached.
— The House is prepared to pass a stop gap measure to keep the government open a few more weeks if there is no immigration deal included.
Dale Jackson hosts a daily radio show from 7-11 a.m. on NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN and a weekly television show, “Guerrilla Politics,” on WAAY-TV, both in North Alabama. Follow him @TheDaleJackson.
