President Donald Trump wants U-S lawmakers to focus on border security calling on Congress to pass legislation using a simple majority. But that would require changing Senate rules. Trump has zeroed in on a program that shields certain undocumented young people from deportation. And Mexico's handling of security at the border. C-G-T-N's Jim Spellman explains the push to 'act now' on immigration.
President Donald Trump is venting his anger at what he calls a broken immigration system, focusing on the so-called Dreamers- people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. They're currently protected by a policy known as DACA- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Trump has attempted to rescind the program.
On Monday morning Trump tweeted: TRUMP ON DACA GVO IN SOBEY: DACA is dead because the Democrats didn't care or act, and now everyone wants to get onto the DACA bandwagon... No longer works. Must build Wall and secure our borders with proper Border legislation. Democrats want No Borders, hence drugs and crime.
Polling suggest an overwhelming majority of Americans support allowing the Dreamers to stay in the US, but Trump has used DACA as a bargaining chip with Democrats - seeking funding for his border wall in exchange for protecting the dreamers.
At the annual White House Easter Egg Roll Trump again blamed the Democrats.
DONALD TRUMP US PRESIDENT "The Democrats have really let them down. It's a shame and now people have taken advantage of DACA and that's a shame. It should have never happened."
But Democrats say the blame lies solely with the President.
JOHN GARAMENDI US CONGRESSMAN "He created this crisis, he created this problem all by himself. It wasn't something that needed to be done. Maybe the courts would've ruled it over time that it had to be changed. OK, that could've happened. But he terminated the program."
And many DACA recipients say they oppose having their fate tied to a border wall.
BARBARA HERNANDEZ DACA RECIPIENT "As a DACA recipient, I will not stand for a border wall enforcement that throws my community under the bus and further criminalizes them."
JIM SPELLMAN WASHINGTON "Any doc.billing in congress would require the support of a released some democrats to pass. But that doesn't appear at this point. Jim Spellman, CGTN, WASHINGTON."