Trump makes offer as US immigration deal bickering continues

Financial Times

By Barney Jopson

January 24, 2018

Trump makes offer as US immigration deal bickering continues

President Donald Trump ended a day of bickering with Democrats over immigration with a surprise declaration that is likely to alienate conservatives, saying he is open to letting some unauthorised immigrants become US citizens over time.

Mr Trump told reporters on Wednesday evening he would allow some “Dreamers” brought to the US illegally as children to “morph into” US citizens over a period of 10-12 years in return for $25bn in funding for a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Washington is turning its attention to the possibility of an immigration deal between the White House and Congress after Democrats ended a government shutdown earlier this week by accepting a Republican promise of talks on reform.

But earlier in the day Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, withdrew an offer from last week to support a smaller amount of funding for a wall. “We’re going to have to start on a new basis,” he said.

To strike a deal Congress must find a way past differences that have stopped breakthroughs for a quarter of a century — and do so amid rancour lifted to new highs by Mr Trump’s anti-immigrant politics.

Mr Trump responded to Mr Schumer’s statement by tweeting that “Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA”, referring to an Obama-era programme that has protected up to 800,000 “Dreamers” brought to the US illegally as children.

Mr Trump has expressed sympathy for Dreamers, who total some 3.6m according to the Migration Policy Institute, but many conservatives are opposed to offering them a pathway to citizenship, arguing that doing so would encourage more illegal immigration.

The White House said it would release a legislative framework on Monday “that represents a compromise that members of both parties can support”.

The crude outlines of a potential deal are already accepted by both sides. For Democrats, it would protect “Dreamers” living under the threat of deportation. For Republicans, it would deliver the strict enforcement they want to deter more border transgressions.

Neither party is opposed in principle to the other’s priority. No Democrats advocate uncontrolled borders. Most Republicans, including Mr Trump, express sympathy for Dreamers. But the disagreements are over how much compassion, and how much enforcement, are too much.

The latest ructions came after the US government reopened following a near-three day shutdown, with Democrats accepting a Republican promise of a fresh attempt at immigration reform, including a replacement for the DACA programme that Mr Trump is phasing out.

Dave Brat, a conservative congressman from Virginia, said: “Most people are in favour of rational policy dealing with the DACA kids and getting a rational immigration policy, which we’ve failed [at] for 30 years.”

There is a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House of Representatives that want to vote for a decent Dreamer bill. The problem is that the majority in both chambers consists of all Democrats and some Republicans

Frank Sharry, America’s Voice

According to a CBS News poll this week, 79 per cent of Republicans — and 87 per cent of Americans overall — favour allowing Dreamers to stay in the US.

But a core part of Mr Trump’s political base is opposed to any help for illegal immigrants, making Republicans nervous that, if they show too much compassion, they could face primary challenges from the right ahead of congressional elections in November.

The consensus in Washington is that a deal that could pass Congress is still possible. But it would require a public split in one party.

Frank Sharry, founder of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration group, said: “There is a majority in the Senate and a majority in the House of Representatives that want to vote for a decent Dreamer bill. The problem is that the majority in both chambers consists of all Democrats and some Republicans.”

The rightwing Freedom Caucus in the House would oppose legislation perceived as too lenient. Mr Sharry predicted that the only circumstances in which Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, the Republican leaders in Congress, would advance such a bill — knowing it would pass with Democratic votes — was if Mr Trump backed it.

“He needs to embrace a bipartisan solution and sell it. He’s the only one in the Republican party who can get reluctant Republicans to commit to get this done,” Mr Sharry said.

The outlines of such a bill have been drafted by Dick Durbin, the Democratic senator, and Lindsey Graham, his moderate Republican counterpart. It would provide $2.7bn for border security improvements and provide a pathway to US citizenship not just for DACA beneficiaries but for a larger group of Dreamers.

A White House spokesman criticised the bill this week as “basically amnesty”.

Ted Yoho, a member of the House Freedom Caucus from Florida, warns of the dangers of legislation that would split the party. “I think that would be a mistake for Paul Ryan to bring up a bill like that. Because we have a majority in the House for a reason. The American people sent us there,” he said. “[Former speaker] John Boehner did this and this is one of the reasons John Boehner isn’t here any more.”

Mr Yoho says House Republicans have already put forward serious legislation from Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House judiciary committee. But his conservative bill goes too far for Democratic leaders in toughening border security and curtailing family-based migration and a visa lottery programme.

The challenge for Republicans would be to divide the other party by picking off enough votes from moderate Senate Democrats — many of whom are up for re-election in right-leaning states this year — to accumulate the 60 votes needed to push a bill through the chamber. But it will be an uphill struggle.

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