SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Several groupsdemonstrated in front of the White House during 2017 to protest the Trump administration's termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
'Stop Using Our Young People As Leverage': Trump Slammed for DACA Remarks Ahead of Immigration Talks
"You ended DACA," the ACLU reminds Trump, referring to the terminated program that protected thousands of young immigrants from deportation
Jan 02, 2018
President Donald Trump was slammed by immigrant rights advocates and Democrats in Congress on Tuesday for declaring that "activists and Hispanics" would be "falling in love" with him and Republicans despite offering no coherent evidence for such a prediction.
Ahead of a Wednesday meeting at the White House to discuss reinstating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections that were previously granted to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, the president tweeted:
Outrage has continued to grow since Trump terminated DACA in September and thousands of Dreamers--a term often used to describe DACA recipients, because the program was inspired by the DREAM Act--have lost their protected status. Immigrant advocates were quick to fire back at Trump's remarks on social media:
Democratic lawmakers also chimed in:
In a follow-up tweet featuring a link to Tuesday's Boston Globe editorial--which calls on Congress to immediately address DACA and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) accused Republican lawmakers and Trump of wanting "to play political games" with Dreamers and children's healthcare. "Let's pass these bills now and stop using our young people as leverage," he said.
Despite the support from Lieu and Markey on Tuesday, Democratic leaders in Congress failed to deliver on their promises to force action on DACA before the New Year. As Common Dreams has reported, immigrant advocates are growing increasingly weary of what a final deal with the Trump administration will look like.
Even so, they remain critical of Trump, who came under fire last week for positioning Dreamers as a "bargaining chip" for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and implementing other aspects of his immigration agenda. The outcry came in response to what the president had tweeted Friday morning:
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
President Donald Trump was slammed by immigrant rights advocates and Democrats in Congress on Tuesday for declaring that "activists and Hispanics" would be "falling in love" with him and Republicans despite offering no coherent evidence for such a prediction.
Ahead of a Wednesday meeting at the White House to discuss reinstating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections that were previously granted to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, the president tweeted:
Outrage has continued to grow since Trump terminated DACA in September and thousands of Dreamers--a term often used to describe DACA recipients, because the program was inspired by the DREAM Act--have lost their protected status. Immigrant advocates were quick to fire back at Trump's remarks on social media:
Democratic lawmakers also chimed in:
In a follow-up tweet featuring a link to Tuesday's Boston Globe editorial--which calls on Congress to immediately address DACA and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) accused Republican lawmakers and Trump of wanting "to play political games" with Dreamers and children's healthcare. "Let's pass these bills now and stop using our young people as leverage," he said.
Despite the support from Lieu and Markey on Tuesday, Democratic leaders in Congress failed to deliver on their promises to force action on DACA before the New Year. As Common Dreams has reported, immigrant advocates are growing increasingly weary of what a final deal with the Trump administration will look like.
Even so, they remain critical of Trump, who came under fire last week for positioning Dreamers as a "bargaining chip" for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and implementing other aspects of his immigration agenda. The outcry came in response to what the president had tweeted Friday morning:
President Donald Trump was slammed by immigrant rights advocates and Democrats in Congress on Tuesday for declaring that "activists and Hispanics" would be "falling in love" with him and Republicans despite offering no coherent evidence for such a prediction.
Ahead of a Wednesday meeting at the White House to discuss reinstating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections that were previously granted to undocumented immigrants who entered the United States as children, the president tweeted:
Outrage has continued to grow since Trump terminated DACA in September and thousands of Dreamers--a term often used to describe DACA recipients, because the program was inspired by the DREAM Act--have lost their protected status. Immigrant advocates were quick to fire back at Trump's remarks on social media:
Democratic lawmakers also chimed in:
In a follow-up tweet featuring a link to Tuesday's Boston Globe editorial--which calls on Congress to immediately address DACA and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)--Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) accused Republican lawmakers and Trump of wanting "to play political games" with Dreamers and children's healthcare. "Let's pass these bills now and stop using our young people as leverage," he said.
Despite the support from Lieu and Markey on Tuesday, Democratic leaders in Congress failed to deliver on their promises to force action on DACA before the New Year. As Common Dreams has reported, immigrant advocates are growing increasingly weary of what a final deal with the Trump administration will look like.
Even so, they remain critical of Trump, who came under fire last week for positioning Dreamers as a "bargaining chip" for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and implementing other aspects of his immigration agenda. The outcry came in response to what the president had tweeted Friday morning:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy