DEMS/IMMIGRATION/NANCY PELOSI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “House Democrats are grappling with how to address the surge of migrants at the border, amid divisions over how to respond to President Donald Trump’s hard-line approach. For Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her deputies, the risks of diving into a fight with the president are clear. It was health care and the economy, not immigration, that Democrats ran on and helped deliver the House. And Democrats worry about playing into Trump’s narrative — and potentially losing control of the debate — if they spend too much time reacting to Trump’s controversial moves, from his purge of top immigration officials to the possibility he’ll reinstitute controversial policies to separate children from their parents. But Democrats also acknowledge that despite Trump’s bluster, thousands of Central American migrants are indeed streaming toward the border each day and overwhelming a dysfunctional system. And the party can’t escape the issue if it wanted to, as both Pelosi and Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) faced multiple questions on the topic Thursday [4-11-19] morning at House Democrats’ three-day retreat here…But House Democrats have no plans to put a comprehensive immigration bill on the floor anytime soon, and privately, senior Democrats can’t even agree about the best approach to the issue that Trump has made a centerpiece of his presidency.”
–Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris, “Dems torn over response to Trump’s immigration crackdown,” Politico, April 11, 2019 1:42 pm