Trump: "NO MORE DACA DEAL!"
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - President Donald Trump is not backing away from comments he made on Easter concerning immigration.
On Sunday, the president delivered a setback to those pushing for a permanent solution to the Obama-era DACA program.
Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. "Caravans" coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2018
Monday morning he followed up on his comment.
DACA is dead because the Democrats didn't care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon... No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018
Trump, who has advocated for the children of immigrants who came here illegally many years ago, spoke briefly about his shift on this issue before heading into Easter services in Palm Beach.
"A lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA and we are going to have to really see. They had a great chance. The Democrats blew it. They had a great, great chance, but we'll have to take a look," he said.
It was President Trump who last fall canceled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was begun in the Obama administration to provide temporary protection to dreamers. The protections were scheduled to end March 5th, but court rulings have kept the DACA program in place until higher courts can weigh in.
During the recent budget battle on Capitol Hill, Democrats say it was the president who turned down a deal to fully fund his border wall in exchange for DACA protections.
"We gave him every penny he asked for over ten years, and fixed the Dreamer problem and he said no," said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-VA.
In the end, Congress only gave the president $1.6 billion for his border wall instead of the $25 billion he requested. So now he's focusing on Mexico to stop illegal immigration.
"Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico," he said. "They send them into the United States. Can't happen that way anymore."
Trump claimed "caravans" of undocumented immigrants are coming into the U.S. through Mexico.
The president has also threatened to stop the North American Free Trade Agreement if Mexico does not "stop the big drug and people flows."