DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP POSITION CHANGES: “President Donald Trump said Thursday [2-1-18] that he is willing to walk away from immigration negotiations if Democrats won’t agree to his terms, and many involved in the debate said the chances of a deal appear to be fading…
On Capitol Hill, there was no sign of a breakthrough in the talks a week before the Senate was scheduled to begin debate. Mr. Trump used his State of the Union speech this week to cast many unauthorized immigrants as dangerous criminals…. Without an agreement by March 5, nearly 1,000 people will begin losing those protections each day.
Mr. Trump’s plan calls for $25 billion toward a southwest border wall and other security measures, an end to the diversity visa lottery and limits on family-based migration in exchange for a path to citizenship for the approximately 1.8 million people who qualify under DACA rules… Immigrant-rights advocates say they would prefer Democrats walk away rather than accept his terms, saying reductions in legal immigration, in particular, are beyond the scope of the current debate…
On the other side, conservatives object to the pathway to citizenship the Trump plan would offer, saying it rewards illegal behavior. They say a legal status short of citizenship is the most they can swallow…
A White House official said Mr. Trump does want the Senate to vote on his immigration framework.”
-Laura Meckler, Kristina Peterson, and Siobhan Hughes, “Trump Is Willing to Walk From Immigration Talks if Democrats Don’t Accept His Terms,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 1, 2018 07:06pm