Trump Has an Extensive List of Demands for Congress That Could Hinder Any Deal for Dreamers

President Donald Trump provided Congress with an extensive list of demands on Sunday which could seriously hinder any sort of deal with Democrats on protecting young undocumented immigrants, commonly known as Dreamers, in the United States.

Among the list of demands includes the construction of a border wall between the United States and Mexico, which was a primary focus during Trump’s campaign to increase border security, according to Politico. Last month, Trump announced that he would be ending Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), created during the Obama administration, starting in March, which has left Congress in a whirlwind to address and remedy DACA and ultimately make it law, Politico reports.

However, this recent demand has left Democratic leaders Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi concerned, particularly after Schumer and Pelosi reached a deal with Trump over a “very productive” dinner last month that clearly excluded the building of a border wall, The New York Timesreports.

“We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides,” Schumer and Pelosi had said in a joint statement.  

According to The New York Times, Trump had quickly disputed Schumer and Pelosi’s statement, saying that no deal had actually been reached. After receiving Trump’s demands on Sunday, Schumer and Pelosi released another joint statement, arguing that the demands “went beyond the reasonable border security measures” that the two Congressmembers had agreed to, Politico reports.

“The 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. The list includes the wall, which was explicitly ruled out of the negotiations. If the president was serious about protecting the Dreamers, his staff has not made a good faith effort to do so,” the two Democrats said.

“The president’s position has been that he’s called on Congress to come up with a permanent solution and a fix to this process,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week.

The other demands on Trump’s list consist of the hiring of 10,000 new immigration agents, the halt of federal grants to sanctuary cities and the requirement for employers to use the E-Verify program to ensure that the potential employee is authorized to work, according toThe New York Times. Furthermore, the list demands that tougher laws be put in place for those seeking asylum in the United States, stricter policies in regards to children coming across the border to flee violence in Central America and the prohibition of families sponsoring extended family members (whereas the demands specify that only individuals can only sponsor their spouses and children).

Acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thomas D. Homan, said a significant increase in the number of agents and other federal resources would allow for a “crackdown on immigration violators that had been difficult in the past,” according to The New York Times.

Trump also wants 370 additional immigration judges, as well as 1,000 additional attorneys at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and more detention space so that children arriving at the border can be held, processed and quickly returned if they do not qualify to stay longer, according to Politico.

“Now is the time for Congress to adopt these immigration priorities,” the president’s legislative director, Marc Short, told reporters on Sunday during a conference call, adding that action must be taken now before illegal immigration increases.

In a letter to Congress, Trump told lawmakers that the list of demands “must be included as part of any legislation addressing” DACA because without them, he said illegal immigration and chain migration, which severely and unfairly burden American workers and taxpayers, will continue without end,” Politco reports.

According to The New York Times, the list of demands was drafted by a few agencies and departments, with Stephen Miller, the president’s top policy adviser, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions among the head officials behind the demands. Miller and Sessions have long called for more aggressive policies regarding illegal immigration and the handling of undocumented immigrants in the United States.

While immigration advocates have criticized Trump’s list of demands and will fight to ensure that Democrats only accept a deal without these demands, they are working under a strict deadlines to assist Dreamers who will begin to lose their protections in March.