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Trump: Democrats ‘have totally abandoned’ DACA

Greg Nash

President Trump on Friday blamed Democrats for a lack of progress on saving a program that defers deportation for certain undocumented immigrants known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

“Senate Democrats and the House Democrats have totally abandoned DACA. They don’t even talk to me about it, they’ve totally abandoned it,” Trump said Friday during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“We want to do something about DACA, get it solved after all these years. The Democrats have been totally unresponsive. They don’t want to do anything about DACA. It’s very possible DACA won’t happen, it’s not because of Republicans, it’s because of Democrats.” 

{mosads}Former President Obama launched the DACA program, giving people brought to the U.S. illegally as children the ability to work, live and go to school in the United States as long as they meet certain qualifications.

Trump ended the program last year, saying Obama had acted unlawfully. He called on Congress to do something about the recipients of the program, often referred to as Dreamers, by March 5.

The president’s move launched weeks of contentious negotiations between Trump, Democrats and congressional Republicans that came to a head in Senate floor votes last week.

Trump put forward a proposal to provide citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers that was paired with tighter border security and dramatic cuts to legal immigration. The plan received 39 votes, well short of the 60 needed to pass.

A separate, bipartisan proposal that paired protections for Dreamers with new border security measures received 54 votes. The White House bitterly fought that bipartisan plan, saying it would “undermine the safety and security of American families and impede economic growth for American workers.”

Trump also threatened to veto the bipartisan bill, helping to secure its defeat.

Senators are now discussing a scaled-back immigration plan that would temporarily keep DACA protections in place, but it remains unclear whether such a plan can pass.

Tags Donald Trump

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