A liberal Hispanic congressman clobbered Donald Trump on Sunday over his latest immigration proposals, calling them an ‘extension of the white supremacist agenda.’
At issue is the fate of so-called ‘dreamers,’ people brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez has called on Democrats to hold out for immigration reform language that puts them on a path to legal status and guarantees that they won’t be deported – without giving away anything in return.
‘I warned Democrats not to negotiate, to say that what we wanted was a clean DREAM Act,’ Gutierrez said in an interview with The Washington Post.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez said Sunday that Donald Trump’s latest immigration proposals are an ‘extension of the white supremacist agenda’
Trump’s immigration reform blueprint includes money for a border wall and more border patrol agents, and new enforcement measures to limit the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S.
Protesters shouted slogans against Trump in New York on Thursday, demanding an extension of Barack Obama’s ‘DACA’ program
‘It’s a slippery slope – I never understood why everybody wanted to sit down and negotiate.’
Former president Barack Obama protected dreamers under his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided for what amounted to renewable two-year licenses to live and work in the U.S.
President Trump ended the initiative last month but gave Congress six months to write it into law.
On Sunday the White House released a blueprint for a much broader immigration overhaul – much of which Trump wants passed as a condition of making DACA permanent.
Gutierrez, shown 3rd from left during a September protest in New York City, is a liberal advocate for immigrants – both legal and illegal
Gutierrez was arrested with other protesters on Sept. 19 for blocking a Manhattan street with a sit-in
The plan includes money for a border wall and more border patrol agents, new enforcement measures to limit the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S., and authority to punish ‘sanctuary cities’ that shield them by refusing to work with federal authorities.
‘They’re throwing everything and the kitchen sink in terms of enforcement. I just never understood it,’ Gutierrez complained on Sunday.
He has said in the past that he sees measures targeting people in the country illegally as a form of bigotry, since most of them are of Hispanic descent.
Trump ‘has never wavered from his xenophobic positions,’ Gutierrez charged, linking immigration policy with a firestorm that erupted over Trump’s comments following this summer’s race riot in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Trump at the time said that there was violence and lawlessness on ‘both sides’ of the clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters.
‘I never understood – I just never got it, how you go from Charlottesville and white supremacists to reaching an agreement with him,’ Gutierrez said, suggesting that Democrats should refuse to work with the White House.
‘It’s an extension of the white supremacist agenda – what they want to do is criminalize and delegitimize Latinos.’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (right) said the Trump administration ‘can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers’
Democratic leaders in Congress were quick to dismiss Trump’s wish list of immigration compromises on Sunday night.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a joint statement saying the Trump administration ‘can’t be serious about compromise or helping the Dreamers if they begin with a list that is anathema to the Dreamers, to the immigrant community and to the vast majority of Americans.’
‘We told the President at our meeting that we were open to reasonable border security measures alongside the DREAM Act, but this list goes so far beyond what is reasonable. This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise,’ they added.