Trump: I’m Not Interested In ‘Amnesty,’ Just Letting DACA Recipients Stay

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One for a trip to Florida to meet with first responders and people impacted by Hurricane Irma, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question as he boards Air Force One with first lady Melania Trump, not shown, for a trip to Florida to meet with first responders and people impacted by Hurricane Irma, ... President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question as he boards Air Force One with first lady Melania Trump, not shown, for a trip to Florida to meet with first responders and people impacted by Hurricane Irma, Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was not interested for “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but he wants to let them “stay” in the United States.

“We’re not looking at citizenship. We’re not looking at amnesty. We’re looking at allowing people to stay here,” Trump told reporters in Fort Myers, Florida, citing an outcome which would be practically identical to amnesty.

“We’re talking about taking care of people, people that were brought here, people that have done a good job and were not brought here of their own volition,” he added.

Trump said his administration is “working with everybody” to achieve that.

“Republican, we’re working with Democrat. I just spoke with Paul Ryan. He’s on board. Everybody is on board,” Trump said. “They want to do something.”

Asked about Republicans who are not, in fact, on board with his tentative steps toward a deal, Trump insisted that he was “doing it in conjunction with the Republicans.”

“We have a very, very good relationship with a lot of people,” he said. “A lot of people want this to happen, they expect it to happen and we’ll see if it happens.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tweeted at Trump Thursday morning complaining that the President “undercut” his committee’s negotiations with Democrats.

“Hv ur staff brief me!” he urged.

And Rep. Steve King (R-IA), an immigration hardliner who claimed in an infamous interview in 2013 that for every DACA-protected immigrant that becomes valedictorian “there’s another 100” with “calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert,” was even less pleased.

“If AP is correct, Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable, and disillusioned beyond repair,” he tweeted at Trump. “No promise is credible.”

Trump insisted Thursday that he would only make a deal in exchange for “extreme security, if we get not only surveillance but everything that goes along with surveillance.”

He said “there was no deal” and denied that Democrats claimed otherwise.

“In fact they put out a statement and said they didn’t say that at all,” Trump said.

He also warned Democrats not to “obstruct” his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The wall to me is vital. If I don’t get the wall, then we will become the obstructionists,” he said. “We have to have an understanding that whether it’s in the budget or some other vehicle, in a fairly short period of time, the wall will be funded. Otherwise we’re not doing any deal.”

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. In other words…

  2. From the Federal Register, seems appropriate:
    This final rule adopts, without change, the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) we published in the Federal Register on January 28, 2013. We are replacing the term “mental retardation” with “intellectual disability” in our Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate claims involving mental disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) and in other appropriate sections of our rules. This change reflects the widespread adoption of the term “intellectual disability” by Congress, government agencies, and various public and private organizations.

  3. I’m thinking some heads might explode today. I don’t want to be camped out in front of my computer all day, but I don’t want to miss it either. What to do…

  4. Avatar for sanni sanni says:

    Commander in Chaos currently is sowing ripples of ranting and raving… on the multiple levels of the wretched right.

    Firing up the popcorn maker for the show.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

41 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for daveminnj Avatar for kwoodgr Avatar for fargo116 Avatar for epicurus Avatar for chammy Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for irasdad Avatar for sandyh Avatar for joebob Avatar for Lacuna-Synecdoche Avatar for bonvivant Avatar for sanni Avatar for ottnott Avatar for milehigh_sdfan Avatar for jaybeeraybee Avatar for benthere Avatar for jtx Avatar for rod Avatar for socalista Avatar for maximus Avatar for seveneagles Avatar for carolson

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: