President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that there are “no mixed signals at all” coming from the White House when it comes to working toward a legislative solution to provide immigration protections for young undocumented immigrants living in the US.
“Congress, I really believe, wants to take care of the situation. Even very conservative members of Congress, I’ve seen it firsthand. If they don’t, we’re going to see what we’re going to do. But I can tell you I really believe Congress wants to take care of it,” he told reporters on Air Force One during a flight to Bismarck, North Dakota, to rally for tax reform.
On Tuesday, Trump’s Justice Department rescinded the the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, saying it amounted to constitutional overreach by the Obama administration, which implemented it. In a statement after his agencies and attorney general announced the decision, Trump urged Congress to come up with a solution.
“It is now time for Congress to act!” he said.
But Tuesday evening, Trump tweeted: “Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can’t, I will revisit this issue!”
His tweet seemed to imply that the President would be willing to act within his own executive authority if Congress fails to pass a law — leaving the future of the program up in the air.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters there was no ambiguity and he discussed DACA during a White House meeting earlier in the day with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi alongside Republican leaders.
“Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I,” Trump said.
The President insisted that his punt to Congress was the right move.
“I think they’re going to make a deal. I think Congress wants to do this,” he said.
