The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff, Wire Reports
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:20 PM
President Trump States Again Wednesday That Any Immigration Deal Must Contain A Wall
President Trump flatly stated Wednesday
he will only agree to a deal with Congress on immigration if it includes
funding for his long-promised wall along the border with Mexico.
Asked during a press conference with the prime minister of Norway if
he’s willing to sign a deal that does not include wall funding, Trump
said: “No, it’s going to include the wall.”
Trump said “any solution has to include the wall because without the
wall it all doesn't work.”
“We need the wall for security,” Trump said. “We need the wall for
safety. We need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in.”
Trump’s comments come after he held a lengthy bipartisan immigration
meeting on Tuesday with lawmakers on the issue. The president was
clearly in a deal-making mood as he presided over the session, featuring
Republican and Democratic lawmakers, that was replayed on television and
showed him trying to reach common ground with both sides.
Democrats' central demand is legislation to preserve the Obama-era DACA
program, which was ended by Trump last year and shields illegal
immigrants brought to the United States as children from deportation.
Democrats oppose funding a wall, which they say is unnecessary and
costly.
“I would imagine that the people in the room both Democrat and
Republican, I really believe they're going to come up with a solution to
the DACA problem which has been going on for a long time,” Trump said,
alongside Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway in the East Room.
Statements from Trump and his allies on Wednesday could serve to ease
the concerns of some conservatives -- who reacted with disappointment to
Trump’s meeting with lawmakers, expressing worry that his willingness to
work with Democrats on the issue would lead to him abandoning his
campaign promises to be tough on illegal immigration.
While Trump offered assurances at this press conference, a House GOP
immigration bill being rolled out Wednesday likewise includes the tough
measures championed by candidate Trump in 2016, including a wall, ending
the visa lottery green card program and ending chain migration.
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.