Hopes of a new accord on immigration in the US were dampened on Wednesday, as renewed bickering broke out between the Democrats and President Donald Trump. Congress must move past previous differences to strike a deal but the nation’s two major political parties have, over the last few days, again fallen back into the kind of rancor that has prevented any such immigration breakthroughs for around 25 years.
Senate Democrat leader, Chuck Schumer, who ended the weekend’s government shutdown by accepting a pledge from Republicans to hold immigration discussions, withdrew last Friday’s offer to support funding for the wall on the border between Mexico and the US.
President Trump responded to this announcement by saying that Schumer is well aware there will be no new deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program unless border wall funding is part of it. Both sides have accepted the basic outlines of a possible deal that will deliver tighter immigration enforcement while protecting the young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as minors, who are known as ‘Dreamers’ but seem unable to agree on the balance needed between enforcement and compassion.
87 percent of Americans want the Dreamers to be able to remain in the US, including 79 percent of Republicans, according to a new poll from CBS News this week. But, the Republican Party fears a backlash from conservative supporters if they give too much ground.