CNN reports that “Republican senators are privately planning to court Democratic senators on an immigration deal that would give President Donald Trump money for his border wall and include several measures long-sought by Democrats.” This sentence is misleading. Lindsey Graham, who is leading this effort, has himself long sought the amnesty-style measures he’s so generously prepared to offer Democrats.
Says CNN:
After Trump stormed out of a White House meeting with congressional leaders, GOP senators privately gathered in Sen. Lindsey Graham’s office Wednesday to discuss a way out of the logjam. The long-shot idea: propose an immigration deal that would include $5.7 billion for Trump’s border wall along with several provisions that could entice Democrats.
Which GOP Senators made up the squish brigade? Reportedly, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Lamar Alexander, Rob Portman, and Lisa Murkowksi. And of course Graham.
With which provisions do they intend to “entice Democrats”?
Th[e] items include changes to help those who are a part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as well as immigrants from El Salvador and other countries impacted by the Temporary Protected Status program – along with modifications to H-2B visas.
Where does President Trump stand on this. According to CNN:
GOP senators pitched the idea to senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, who said if they came up with a proposal that got Trump his border wall money and could pass the Senate, the White House would be open to more discussions on the matter, the source said. He did not say Trump would endorse such a plan.
The worrying thing here isn’t just Trump’s position, as articulated by Kushner. It’s also the fact of Kushner’s involvement with the squish brigade.
The son-in-law who (with Graham’s support) talked Trump into a mass release of federal felons, with shorter sentences for future drug felons to follow, will now, apparently, try to talk him into “Grahamesty.”
Rosemary Jenks of Numbers USA, a stalwart in the fight against illegal immigration and amnesty, had this to say:
If reports are true that Jared Kushner told senators tonight that the White House is open to any deal that includes wall funding, Republicans — and America — have already lost this fight. The wall cannot be built in a day, and regardless will not address the abuse of the asylum system, the problem of unaccompanied minor children, visa overstays, sanctuary policies, chain migration, wage suppression for poor Americans, or any of the other myriad problems with our immigration system.
Why are none of these things being included in the negotiations, but instead only more amnesty and more cheap labor? We need a physical barrier on our border, but it is not worth giving away our sovereignty.
The wall, coupled with the absurd promise that Mexico would pay for it, was Donald Trump’s calling card when he ran for president. It was the main thing that set him apart from the pack. Thus, Trump may be sorely tempted to give away far more than he should to get wall funding.
Jenks has it exactly right. The wall, though important, isn’t worth what Lindsey Graham and his like want Trump to grant Team Amnesty in exchange.
Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.