On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted that there wouldn’t be a DACA deal and that he might denounce the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This all happened soon after he wished a Happy Easter to all the Americans, also on the same social media.
Trumps blames Democrats and the Mexican government for the significant and “dangerous” flow of illegal immigrants.
It is not clear if these tweets will have a significant impact on the foreign policy. As some say, they just were part of Trump’s reactions to a “fox and friends” segment on immigration – which aired minutes before the tweets were posted.
‘Mexico has got to help us at the border’
The US President also denounced “liberal” laws that prevent Border patrol agents from doing their jobs. He said Republicans should enact “tougher laws now.” Trump also highlighted that there are “caravans” of Mexicans and Central Americans heading towards the southern border, and many of them hope to seek asylum in the United States.
In the program, a representative of “pueblo sin Fronteras” – a group that organizes caravans – said that the group would be drastically reduced in a few weeks when they reach the U.S-Mexican border. Many of them stay in Mexico since they know they don’t qualify as refugees and they are afraid to be turned back by American border officials.
“Mexico has got to help us at the border. And a lot of people are coming in because they want to take advantage of DACA”, tweeted trump as he was heading into a church in Palm Beach, where he spent the holidays.
Trump said Mexico is doing practically nothing to stop people from coming from Mexico to the United States through the Southern Border. The President said Mexico must act, and stop the flow of drugs and people. Otherwise, he will stop “their cash cow” – or NAFTA, as he considers.
Last year, he announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, would be over. However, courts blocked this decision. There has been a negotiation going on between Democrats and Republicans to find a solution to this immigration issue. After these tweets, Trump seems like he is not going to support a negotiation anymore.
Once he got out of the church, Trump said that Democrats have the fault because they “blew it” even when they “had a great chance.” He said that he would have to take a look at what will happen with DACA recipients.
DACA is a program – created by former president Barrack Obama – that has given protected status to thousands of young immigrants that are illegally brought to the country as children. The program requires recipients to have resided in the United States since 2007.
Trump criticized the ‘Catch and release’ practice
Trump also threatened again with building a wall to separate the US from Mexico. As well, it was far from being the first time he threatened with denouncing NAFTA.
Negotiations to reform NAFTA are taking place right now, but the talks have not been accessible. Recently, The homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, met with the Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to discuss security and trade matters.
In recent tweets, Trump criticized the so-called “catch and release” practice, in which undocumented people are detained but released soon after while they wait for a hearing before an immigration judge. In most cases, they are released because there is no place to house them. People say that this practice gives way for the immigrants to skip their hearing and continue to live undetected in the country. Trump says his administration is determined to end this practice.
Through his tweets, Trump echoed the remarks made by Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, on “fox and friends.”
“Our legislators actually have to stand up, and the Republicans control the House and the Senate, they do not need the Democrat support to pass any laws they want,” said Mr. Judd on the program. “They can go the nuclear option, just like what they did on the confirmation. They need to pass laws to end the catch-and-release program that’ll allow us to hold them for a long time.”
Migrants who are not capable of proving that they face prosecution or that their lives are at risk in their home county are unlikely to be allowed to remain in the US.
Source: The New York Times