Cotton: Trump called me to say there is no deal on DACA

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in an interview Sunday that President Trump called him to let him know he did not make a deal with Democratic leadership on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“You know, I think the president has said publicly that there’s not a deal,” Cotton told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referencing Trump’s discussion with Democratic leadership about the DACA program and border security.

Some reports indicated Trump agreed to hold back on attaching funding for his proposed border wall in order to push through DACA legislation with Democratic support.

{mosads}“He wants to see a deal,” Cotton added. “In fact, he called me a couple nights ago to say there’s no deal. He wants to make sure that we protect the interest of American workers. In particular, by ending unlimited chain migration which is why we have so many unskilled workers coming into the country.” 

Cotton emphasized that a deal has yet to be reached on DACA, an Obama-era program that protected young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children from deportation. The Trump administration announced earlier this month that it would phase out the program, giving Congress six months to act. 

“We want to put American interests or American workers’ interests first. And we’ll do that. But there’s no deal right now. And I’m happy to work for the president and Democrats in Congress try to reach a deal that helps American workers,” Cotton said.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), after meeting with Trump last week, said they agreed to work toward a deal in Congress to protect DACA and on a border security package.

The White House also has emphasized that a deal on DACA has yet to be reached.