President Trump poked a finger in the eye
of Senate Democrats Friday by accusing them of abandoning illegal
immigrants brought to the U.S. as children -- a day after multiple
attempts at immigration reform crashed on the floor of the Senate.
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the
Democrats...totally abandoned! Republicans are still working hard.
Trump took to Twitter to say those eligible for protection under the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program had been “totally
abandoned” by Democrats, while Republicans are “still working hard.”
It was Trump himself who in September repealed the Obama-era executive
order -- fulfilling a campaign promise. However, he set a March
expiration date and immediately called for Congress to “legalize” the
program.A Trump-backed plan that
met the “four pillars” Trump had demanded mustered only 39 votes in the
Senate -- well short of the 60 required and the least votes of the four
plans voted on.
A bipartisan plan drawn up by a “Gang
of 22” that would grant a 10-12 year path to citizenship for DACA
recipients, while also dribbling out $25 billion for border security
over 10 years, also failed after fierce criticism from the Trump
administration.
President Trump blames Democrats for
immigration failure. Fox News' Griff Jenkins reportsVideo
Bipartisan immigration plan fails in Senate
Ahead of the vote, the DHS warned the
plan would mean the “end of immigration enforcement in America” and said
it would turn the U.S. into a “sanctuary nation.”
The bill did not end chain migration,
nor would it have ended the visa lottery -- two of Trump’s four pillars.
Additionally, the DHS criticized a measure that would protect illegal
immigrants who arrived in the country before January.
15 Feb
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
The Schumer-Rounds-Collins immigration bill would be a total
catastrophe. @DHSgov says it would be “the end of immigration
enforcement in America.” It creates a giant amnesty (including for
dangerous criminals), doesn’t build the wall, expands chain migration,
keeps the visa...
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
...lottery, continues deadly catch-and-release, and bars enforcement
even for FUTURE illegal immigrants. Voting for this amendment would be a
vote AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders. If Dems are
actually serious about DACA, they should support the Grassley bill!
Trump urged senators not to support the bill saying it would be a vote
“AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders.”
Senators also blocked a plan by Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., which would allow
DACA recipients to qualify for permanent residency and would direct
agencies to control the border by 2020.
Another plan offered by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., that would block federal
grants to sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal
authorities on illegal immigration also failed to pass a test vote.
Fox News’ Alex Pappas and Chad Pergram contributed to this report. |