President Trump said Sunday the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program is “probably dead” thanks to Democrats.
“DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don’t really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
He reiterated the remark to reporters at Mar-a-Lago Sunday evening, saying that he and congressional Republicans were “ready, willing, and able to make a deal” on DACA “but Democrats don’t want to.”
A deal on immigration reform is being worked out between the president and Congress as part of a spending bill that must pass by Friday if a government shutdown is to be avoided. Republicans want funding for border security and changes to chain migration and the visa lottery program if a deal on protecting DACA recipients is made—a point he also brought up on Twitter Sunday.
“I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST” he wrote.
I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018
Trump blamed the Democrats for refusing to budge.
"They don’t want security at the border," he said about Democrats Sunday night. "They don’t want to stop drugs. And they want to take money away from our military, which we cannot do."
"The folks from DACA should note, the Democrats are the ones that aren’t going to make a deal," he added.
He also insisted he isn’t a racist, following a report that he referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “sh*thole countries” during a bipartisan immigration meeting last week.
"I'm not a racist," he told one reporter. "I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you."