WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he
would not consider reinstating an immigration program that protected young people
from
deportation without a commitment from Democrats to help build a wall on
the border with Mexico and end certain immigration programs.
The debate on immigration will be a pivotal issue in Washington in early
2018 ahead of midterm congressional elections in November.
In September, Trump ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
(DACA) program, which protected young people from deportation who had been
brought to the United States illegally as children, and gave Congress until
March to devise a long-term solution.
Democrats have pushed for DACA to continue, but Trump, a Republican, has
said that will not happen without the end to various visa programs and the
construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border.
“The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no
DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to
the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration
etc,” Trump posted on Twitter on Friday.
Representatives for Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said they would not negotiate the issue in the
media but looked forward to serious talks after lawmakers return to work in
Washington early next month.
The Senate is set to resume its work Jan. 3 while the U.S. House of
Representatives restarts its session Jan. 8.
Trump promised to build a border wall as a presidential candidate and has
continued to press for it publicly.
He has also called for an additional “merit based” assessment for U.S.
visa recipients.
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