Top Dem: Congress shouldn’t include Trump’s demands in DACA legislation

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called on Congress to reject the Trump administration’s demands on immigration policies to be included in legislation meant to extend protections for young undocumented immigrants.

Durbin said the Trump administration “passed the buck to Congress” by ending the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program and that lawmakers can address Trump’s proposals “after Congress addresses the DACA crisis that the Administration itself created.”

“Many of these proposals already face bipartisan opposition in the House and Senate and it would be wrong to link the fate of Dreamers to an anti-immigrant wish list,” Durbin said.

{mosads}Durbin is a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which would give legal status and a path to citizenship to Dreamers — undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — and called for Congress to pass the bill without including any of Trump’s proposals.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last month that Trump would end the DACA program with a six-month window, giving Congress the opportunity to pass a bill on the protections.

The Trump administration unveiled its demands for immigration policies officials want included in DACA legislation Sunday night, including funding for a wall along the Mexican border.

Trump also called for funding to hire thousands more immigration officers and a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal authorities.

Durbin is one of several Democrats to criticize the proposals.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) both came out against the proposals, saying the administration wasn’t making a “good faith effort” to stick to an agreement the pair reached with Trump on DACA last month.