Just in case you missed this news last night – Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer went to dinner with Trump and emerged saying they had a deal on a Dream Act that would protect Dreamers, add some border security, but not pay for a wall. So they say. Since then, Trump’s position has changed repeatedly. I’m writing this at about midnight – but I won’t even try to say what the current position is, because it will probably change by morning.
Trump, top Democrats agree to work on deal to save ‘dreamers’ from deportation (Washington Post, 9/13/17)
Democrats say agreement reached with Trump to protect young immigrants (The Guardian, 9/14/17) And then the subhead contradicts the headline:
“Trump denies deal made with Democrats but suggests protections for so-called Dreamers could be made in exchange for increased border security”
The following articles explain some of the White House waffling – but mostly, waffling is just standard operating procedure at the White House:
Right explodes in anger over Trump’s immigration push (The Hill, 9/14/17)
“President Trump’s supporters are apoplectic and lashing out at “Amnesty Don” for pursuing a deal with Democratic leaders to protect young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.”
White House: There will be no amnesty’ under Trump (The Hill, 9/14/17)
“Breitbart News used the headline “Amnesty Don” on a story slamming the president for working with Democrats on immigration, and the moniker was trending in Washington, D.C., early Thursday.
“Even though Walters said Trump doesn’t seek “amnesty,” her comments sowed confusion over the White House’s definition of the term.
“She said Trump is wants “responsible path forward” for DACA recipients that might allow them to obtain U.S. citizenship.”
Trump says GOP leaders ‘on board’ in immigration talks (AP via MPR, 9/14/17)
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, here are a few voices from non-politicians:
St. Cloud DACA Recipient: ‘We’re here to work’ (St. Cloud Times, 9/13/17) Luis Ramirez wants to be a police officer. He has lived in the United States since he was 10 months old.
““I’ve been raised to work for everything I have,” Ramirez said. “I don’t want handouts.”
“If Ramirez was deported to Mexico, he knows he’d have the advantage of an American education. But, he said, his whole family is here. He doesn’t have any ties to Mexico.
“One of the reason’s he wants to work in public service is because he knows life isn’t always safe in Mexico and even in parts of Minnesota where he has lived. But he wants to protect what’s safe in St. Cloud. “ http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2017/09/13/st-cloud-daca-recipient-were-here-work/659547001/
Editorial: Make Minnesota A Dreamer Destination (Swift County Monitor-News, 9/13/17)
“Republican Gov. John Kasich has the right attitude. “This is not the America that we all love. This is a melting pot,” Kasich told CBS “This Morning.” “And, by the way, if the Dreamers want to go somewhere and live? Come to Ohio. We want all the immigrants to come to Ohio, because we know how much they contribute to America.” Minnesota shouldn’t let Kasich get out ahead of us….
“As we have pointed out before, the rural population of Minnesota has fallen by nearly one-third or more, with the negative impacts of that lost population felt in our schools, churches, businesses and on main street. We can’t fill the jobs available in rural Minnesota because we can’t find the people to fill them. We are seeing businesses leave, moving to more densely populated areas.”
And in other immigration news
Opinion: Rx for worker shortages: Smart immigration (MinnPost, 9/14/17) Keep the current family immigration system, provide a path to legalization for the undocumented immigrants already in the United States, and add a skilled worker program.
Motel 6 is Turning Undocumented Immigrants in to ICE, Attorneys Believe (Vice News, 9/13/17) Looks like a clear pattern at two Phoenix Motel 6s, with at least 20 people arrested. And then there’s this:
“We send a report every morning to ICE—all the names of everybody that comes in,” one clerk said. “Every morning at about five o’clock, we do the audit and we push a button and it sends it to ICE.”
Newsweek has basically the same article here.
U.S. sued over border phone searches (Minnesota Lawyer, 9/14/17)
“The searches at airports and at the Canadian border are being carried out without warrants in violation of the Constitution’s First and Fourth Amendments, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Boston.”
Immigration news 