Trump Sets the Record Straight on Proposal: 'Amnesty Is Not a Part of My Offer'
President Donald Trump on Sunday pushed back against his critics — some within his own party — who have suggested that he was offering “amnesty” to illegal aliens.
And he made it clear that his proposal to end the government shutdown included nothing of the sort.
“No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer,” he posted on Twitter in no uncertain terms.
“It is a 3 year extension of DACA,” the president wrote, referring to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that allowed undocumented immigrants who were brought to America by their parents to remain in the country.
No, Amnesty is not a part of my offer. It is a 3 year extension of DACA. Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else. Likewise there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally-but be careful Nancy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2019
His tweet was a followup to Saturday’s televised White House address, during which he offered an olive branch to Democrats.
“Trump announced that he was prepared to back a three-year extension of protections for 700,000 immigrants who came to the country illegally as children and were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program,” Fox News explained.
“This, in exchange for the $5.7 billion he has requested for a barrier on the southern border with Mexico.”
In his Sunday tweet, however, Trump also hinted that he might consider a wider concession that included amnesty, but only if liberals were willing to offer something major in return.
“Amnesty will be used only on a much bigger deal, whether on immigration or something else,” he wrote.
Then the president chided House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and reminded her that an active effort to round up and deport millions of illegal immigrants already in the United States was probably something he had the legal authority to do if pressed by Democrats.
“Likewise there will be no big push to remove the 11,000,000 plus people who are here illegally-but be careful Nancy!” he warned.
Pelosi and other Democrats have already rejected Trump’s attempt at a compromise outright.
They even spoke out against it based on media rumors even before the president had appeared on television Saturday afternoon.
“It is unlikely that any one of these provisions alone would pass the House, and taken together, they are a non-starter,” Pelosi insisted.
But Trump’s plan does offer a multi-year extension for DACA recipients and Temporary Protected Status participants alike, making the Democrat’s complaints seem somewhat petty.
What the president appears to be doing is reminding liberals that they don’t actually hold that many cards in this poker game.
With Republican control of the Senate and the White House, along with a public that is increasingly frustrated with illegal immigration, Trump has, well, a few trump cards up his sleeve.
Will the president prevail with his much-lauded deal making skills?
Only time will tell, but the left may not have nearly as strong of a position as it thinks.
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