As the March deadline to find a deal for the immigrants protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has come and gone, President Donald Trump believes, due to animosity from congressional Democrats, that there is no consensus to be made. However, Congressman Scott Taylor (VA-2) says lawmakers can secure a deal with the president to fix the Obama-era executive order and craft a full legislative measure.
Taylor appeared on CNN’s “New Day” on Tuesday to explain there is still a “path” for undocumented immigrants currently residing within the U.S, The Hill reports.
“I still believe that there is a deal to be had that has more security, that has more disincentives for future illegal immigration and that has a fix for DACA,” Taylor said.
Over the past few days, Trump has taken to Twitter to voice his outrage over a failed agreement with Congress. On Sunday, the president tweeted, “Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!”
Nevertheless, when Taylor was asked about Trump’s Twitter tactics, he said, “I know that the president just said something, but I don’t think that’s a hard, fast position.”
Currently, the future of the DACA program is in the hands of an appellate court, blocking the president’s plans to rescind the program. Though, he is still waiting for Congress to articulate a legislative fix.
Taylor says the people want a solution to the large population of undocumented immigrants. Though, in the details, along with a deal on DACA, border security must be a priority.
“I think that we should have a deal. I think that we should come to a solution that, again, has border security, again, has future disincentives, but also deals with that population,” Taylor said.
The Democrats have proposed an agreement to secure the citizenship of the 1.8 million under the program. In exchange, Trump wants the authorization of $25 billion over 10 years for the border wall with Mexico, changes to family-based visas, and no legal status for parents of DACA recipients.
