IMMIGRATION/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “President Donald Trump’s call for lawmakers to embrace what he termed a compromise proposal on immigration got a chilly reaction Wednesday [1-31-18] from both Democrats and Republicans, who are struggling to make progress in their negotiations.
In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, Mr. Trump highlighted the details of his plan, which include funding for a wall on the southern border, offering a path to citizenship for 1.8 million people brought to the country illegally when they were young, limiting a family-based migration program and ending the diversity visa lottery… He also emphasized protecting victims of crimes committed by people living in the country illegally, a framing that rankles many who say it unfairly portrays immigrants as criminals.
Lawmakers have been struggling to find a consensus on immigration, a volatile issue that touched off a three-day government shutdown earlier this month. With another spending deadline coming up next month, a shutdown replay looms unless lawmakers strike an immigration deal. Moreover, protections for young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, dubbed Dreamers, start to expire in March unless Congress passes legislation extending them…
A major sticking point among Republicans is how the Trump administration will deal with Dreamers. The president has said he wants to protect them and has proposed a path to citizenship, which is unpopular with many conservative lawmakers.”
-Peter Nicholas, “Lawmakers Not Sold on Trump’s ‘Fair Compromise’ on Immigration,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 31, 2018 11:47am