President Trump on Monday blamed Democrats for failing to reach an agreement to help “Dreamers” who were given work permits and protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
“The Democrats have really let them down,” Trump told reporters when asked whether DACA recipients should worry in the absence of a deal to create a new program through Congress.
“It’s a shame,” Trump added during the 140th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. “A lot of people have taken advantage of DACA. It’s a shame.”
Trump asked Congress last fall to devise a solution for beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and said at the time he planned to phase out its benefits by March 5 of this year. However, after U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled in January that the administration must continue the program, negotiations between the White House and congressional Democrats began to crumble.
Administration officials have since accused Democrats of holding DACA hostage by refusing to entertain a deal that would codify protections for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, in exchange for border security improvements.
“DACA is dead because the Democrats didn’t care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No borders hence drugs and crime!”
