Top congressional Democrats said Sunday evening they are not willing to work with President Trump until he compromises on his administration’s newly announced immigration reform agenda.
“The administration can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement.
“We told the president at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the DREAM Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise,” the statement added.
“The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the president was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so.”
On a conference call Sunday night, a senior White House official said Trump will propose to Congress an immigration reform agenda focused on border security, interior enforcement, and the creation of a merit-based visa system.
In response to speaking with interagencies and rank-and-file lawmakers, the administration compiled a list of to-do items as Congress mulls over how to respond to the winding down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
The White House official made no mention of DACA, former President Barack Obama’s 2012 executive action, but said the three items on the administration’s proposal represent the top line findings of what various federal departments said was necessary to reform.
