Trump Blames Democrats for Failing to Protect Dreamers

But he threatened to veto bipartisan bill
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2018 1:58 PM CST
Trump Blames Democrats for Failing to Protect Dreamers
President Donald Trump delivers a statement on the mass shooting at a South Florida High School from the White House, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Lawmakers had three chances to protect Dreamers from deportation in the form of three separate bills voted on by the Senate on Thursday. None passed, and President Trump laid the blame on Democrats on Friday, the Hill reports. "Cannot believe how BADLY DACA recipients have been treated by the Democrats...totally abandoned! Republicans are still working hard," the president tweeted. However, Dara Lind at Vox writes Trump is pointing his finger in the wrong direction. Trump announced he was ending DACA on March 5, opening young immigrants brought illegally to the US as children to deportation, and said he wanted lawmakers to work on a deal to protect Dreamers permanently.

In January, Trump had this to say: “When this group comes back, hopefully with an agreement, I am signing it. I will be signing it. I’m not going to say, ‘Oh, gee, I want this or I want that.’ I will be signing it.” On Thursday, a bipartisan bill offering a path to citizenship for Dreamers—something proposed by the White House—and $25 billion for border security and Trump's wall fell just six votes short of passing. It's possible it could have secured the final votes needed to pass had Trump and the White House not vehemently opposed it and threatened a veto. The bill Trump did support received just 39 of the needed 60 votes to pass. Meanwhile, Trump's decision to end DACA is being blocked in two courts, meaning the March 5 deadline could pass with no change—or peace of mind—for Dreamers, NPR reports. (More immigration stories.)

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