When President Trump announced that he would end the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, he gave Congress six months to make it law. Otherwise, many undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children could be deported. As the clock counts down, why is the president making the program his problem once again?
Guest: Michael D. Shear, a White House correspondent for The Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
From the New York Times are Michael Barbara,
today, when President Trump announced that he would end darker, he made it congresses problem.
They had six months to pass a bill or tens of thousands,
of undocumented children could be deported as the clock countdown
why is the president once again making it his problem? It's Thursday January about good morning, I M here today to announce that the programme known as darker there was a factor worded under the Obama administration is being rescind the darker programme was implemented in through right, so it was
September. Fifth, I believe of last year, almost two thirds of the way through the president's first year. In office and attorney General Jeff sessions went out at the Justice Department and made this dramatic announcement to have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest. We cannot admit everyone would like to come here.
It's just accept. The administration was rescinding a program called Dhaka, deferred action for childhood arrivals MIKE
here covers the White House for the times it was a programme that was set up originally in two thousand twelve.
By the Obama administration as a way of addressing a particularly sympathetic group of people and were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants, and often have no idea.
That their undocumented, until until the Obama administration had put into place a program. That said, look let's carve out this group of people and say we're not going to deport.
We're going to give them the ability to get a work permit that it can work here legally. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who, for all
dense and purposes our american, and that was the status quo for something like five years, two dozen twelve to two thousand seventeen, the compassionate thing
is in the lawlessness enforce out, and if Congress chooses to make changes to those laws to do so through the process set forth by our founders, but is actually not that simple right that suddenly, the president, through Jeff sessions is just shutting down darkened us know exactly what he dies right. I mean look part
the interesting thing about President Trump is that he is somewhat conflicted on this issue. The situation is a very very at a very difficult thing for me, because I love these kids. I love kids. I have kids and grandkids.
And I find it very, very high doing what the law says exactly did them and has a long history of expressing some of the same sympathies towards this group that others do actually a little known fact. As the president
in two thousand and thirteen long before he was a presidential candidate had even today given thought about running for president, he met with a group of these young immigrants, their known as dreamers, and, as I understand it, Gabby you
in that meeting with Donald Trump a couple years ago. That's right on and he met with them in Trump towers.
Around a table had a long discussion lamb, and here he asked as a typical questions that people who are not well version don't understand that immigration movement that is happening in the country, so we were able to explain some of those things.
And then at the end of this meeting, as they rode down the elevator. One of them told us that he looked at us and said you know you convince me in a we left their thinking, while Donald Trump understands and was able to hear us out and really ask questions that some people would be embarrassed about
However, we were able to get the answers that has clearly stuck with him so either
on that day. On that September fifth day, when he sent out his attorney general to end the programme, President Trump had managed to figure out a way to do two things
on the same day and pretty dramatic fashion. On the one hand, he found a way to satisfy this sort of super conservative anti immigrant part of his base, which had always hated this Obama Europe programme. They had seen it as an executive overreach than Obama had just sort of wave a magic wand and kind
exempted this group of immigrants from the sort of their normal immigration laws, and so by sending out his very conservative attorney general to ended. He satisfied that
it is based, but at the same time, and in the reason why it's not so simple, and why it's pretty interesting in domestic on that day? Is that literally the moment that he did that the moment he ended the programme? He also challenged Congress to fix it
developing tonight hours after the Trump Administration announced it was phasing out the dock programme over the next six months. President trunk tweeted Congress now has six month
to legalise doc up something the Obama administration was unable to do if they can. The end of that clock is March fifth after which, if they don't,
by March. Fifth. Everyone knows that that sort of the day that many more
of these young immigrants will start being affected by this day after day. This strikes me, as is kind of a brilliant stroke on the part of the present
if it works, he doesn't alienate his supporters who put of an office in who have real reservations about something like a dream act. But
Congress to solve this Congress to pass legislation protecting these dreamers.
We would actually be far stronger and more
or enduring then what President Obama had done, which was an executive order or what trumps would have done by just furthering the executive order right know exactly I mean look. President Obama tried to take the legislative approach during his time in office, and I said time and time and time again to Congress. Send me the dream: ACT, put it on my desk and I will sign it right away. They just couldn't get it through Congress, so the Dhaka programme was an executive action. The President Obama did out of frustration. You couldn't get the legislation passed. You know fast forward
President Trump, and if he can give no help, Republicans and Democrats in Congress to come together and actually do a version of the dream act that was tried and failed several years ago. It will actually be a much more permanent solution, a much better solution for these young immigrants, because at the end of the day they won't be subject to the whims of the next president who comes in my office. They will seem.
We have become permanent residence, United Satan and depending on how the legislation to be written might have an opportunity at some point in the future to become Sittest. So, what's Congress been doing in the four months since this six month, clock started to count to and are they trying to solve this problem, so Congress does what Congress always does, which is they don't ever do things simply right? You know it's, it's never is simple, is just let's take this one issue and let's talk about it, debate it and vote on it right. So both sides looked at this question of how to deal with them,
the young immigrants and said: how can we improve our leverage? You know so that we get. What we want is going to be an eventful few days on Capital Hill. Let's get the lawnmower who can set the table force on that Eliza Morning, one per hour
and our church, humor and presented of Nancy Policy have said they are willing to support a deal that would ways the national debt limit for three months now that, as the offer from Democrats with unclear for publicans, will accept it acts. What I do think is very interesting
The wall is so critically important to him and darker and maintaining. It is so critically important Democrats that he is
using that as the ultimate bargaining chip here will he get his way to both sides started posturing. There was this remarkable dinner. The president late Wednesday, working around his own party, hosted Shut,
humor Nancy Pelosi at the White House. While we have an invitation to a czech children, I later humour on the menu tax reform, border security, infrastructure trade and how to resolve the dispute over so called dreamers. President said, you know, supported dream and they have had talked it through with
AIDS there and what everybody said was all we ve got a deal, the president and the democratic right of veto on Doc zeal in Dhaka. After the sit down the democratic leaders announcing, we agreed to enshrine the protection of data in the law quickly and to work out a package of border security. Excluding the wall that acceptable to both sides were not been a tie. The wall to dreamers, that's a very, very good thing.
Progress. I've told him over and over again at one point he said to me: go easy on the wall. I said no, but the minute at that dinner
ended in everybody. Laughed president tromp is pushing
this morning against democratic claims that they have a framework for a deal to save. Nearly seven hundred thousand young immigrants from deportations, prostituting ashore
time ago no deal was made last night on Dhaka, massive borders
He would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent would be subject to vote. The normal partisan mechanisms in Washington kicked in and so
within I dunno few days a couple of weeks, it was pretty clear that whatever quoting quote deal, both sides might have thought had been struck like there wasn't a deal that was sealed that night and so for that reason, this six month clock that you ve been describing
still ticking with no deal right, there's no deal it and ultimately that's what led the president to invite members of Congress from both parties in both chambers to the White House on Tuesday, for what ended up being this remarkable this
in our long, you know broadcast on television where they really sort of confronted this question and how to solve it, we'll be right back. This pat cast is supported.
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You see some like what happens in this televised eating at the White House on Tuesday,
very much that the president gathered all of these
make us around in the cabinet room.
Here today, to advance by partisan image
Reform that serves normally depresses brought in for just a few
couple of minutes and then led out meeting can happen a private in this case. Maybe the pressing
stay for a little while, and a couple of folks can make statements to the press we brought in and in the wood
loud to stay in the meeting went on and on and on for almost an hour. I think we're gonna come up with an answer. I hope we can come up with an answer for Dhaka and then we go further than that later run down
and everybody in all the different sides we're trying to make their points. You had the Democrats, we need to take care of these documents and we
agree on that.
Percent of the american public, agrees on nine hundred of them or members of the? U S, military, twenty thousand of them or schoolteachers, repeatedly trying to make their case to the president that in a let's just do this very simply, Mr President. Let's just take the dream act and let's pass it
let's not get bogged down by a lot of other stuff lives or hanging in the balance of our job and then on the republican sides to recent terror attacks in New York. There were the result of this. I think failed immigration policy. We like to see that fix you had a bus,
The Republicans urging the president, not so fast we're going to address the border enforcement insecurity and let's make sure that we do this as a package, and it makes more sense for their constituency sort of. We do not do something with this
cured. If we do not do something with a chain migration, we are falling
and then there was one moment, the crystallized. The tension in that back and forth
when a senator would you like to say something: Senator Diane, Feinstein, Democratic California, veteran of the Senate for the last several decades sees an opportunity and takes it
about a clean doc. A bill now tries to convince the president that
the best way to go to just do a clean dream act, something for these young
rates without loading it up with a bunch of other things. I think that's, basically, what take us we're gonna come up with in the present seem to agree.
I would like to wish- and you know you could sense- that the Democrats in the room were like that's like us-
a real moment. There are five pounds asking here in representative, Kevin Mccarthy Republican from California
so and in the leadership in the house and with somebody who you could see it on his face. He realised that this was a panic now doktor. Without are you talking about security as well?
I think if we have some meaningful, comprehensive and immigration reform, that's really where the security go. President had just leave. Seem too,
suggest that they were to sort of abandon all of their efforts to get tougher immigration restrictions on who can come into the country of IRAN
then at the border like three pillars: Dhaka, we all round the room, wanna, do it or security. So we're not back out here and chain migration suited me back in
and between Feinstein in Mccarthy
Do you really think that there can be agreement on all of them quickly because we know from
of the present over the whole year that linked oftentimes, where he ends up in the position of whoever whispered in his ear last, so you could see the around
Table in that moment, both sides trying to be that voice in his head sort of the last voice to convince him to go under rupture.
Thank you all very much. Thank you. Then what happens so the meat
breaks up at the White House, and it was really only a few hours later than a new road block to the Trump administrations move to an Dhaka. A federal judge in California
issued a ruling on this evil very programme on the dock, a programme, a federal judge, blue
king, the Trump administrations decision to end the dreamers programme on March, for essentially what the judge said is that the president's decision back in September on September fifth, when he
had the attorney general announced the end to the dock, a program that decision was
essentially illegal that the administration had not followed the proper procedures to end the dock, a programme, and you can't just take something away with a stroke,
and any issued a nationwide injunction basically said. The government has to restart the doktor programming to start giving back. Those benefits to people now in the trick here is that the legal process,
move slowly and it's not at all clear with the appeals that are likely and what impact the legal case will actually have reigned. In the meantime, the political process is continuing, and I think, talking to Democratic Republic,
the White House. There is a real sense that, even though the judges ruling on Tuesday night was, you know, amazing
the came on that same night of the White House meeting right, but that really, at the end of the day, nobody expects the legal process to be the one to solve this rate. Like everybody understands. Ultimately, the political process is the one that
the matter since was this. Timing just happened to be a coincidence that, on the same day, the White House holds the session on Doc,
and whether to renew it? The judge this judge makes a ruling on die. That's quite consequential. We have no transparency into the judges decision. Making my suspicion is that it's not an incidental. You know that the judge has been
considering this case. For you know weeks now, not months, though, lawsuits were filed back in the fall, and I have no reporting system
asked one way or the other, but did he decide hey? This is not a bad opportunity, is not a bad moment to release this decision. It is certainly possible.
Make it seems like whether the timing of this ruling was going
the general or non. It offers an explanation
for why, President Trump after trying to make Dhaka congresses problem rather than his problem, has now come back to this issue and is trying to help get a bill past
because all last year we saw him using executive authority to deal with immigration with the travel ban and just getting blocked through the courts over and over. So is this
for it would just another example of something that president from Sir
to have already figured out and is exhausted by which is that executive action is just legally fraud and temporary
and not a real way to get a problem solved. Yet I think you're exactly right
It is a reminder of the risks that you take when you try to make big broad consequential public policy outside
the normal legislative process and that the judges ruling in this lawsuit underscores better than anybody could possibly have done that,
You know, when you make policy that way it becomes completely. Minos would have wrapped up in
legal quagmire that you ve got in a judges in
how a foreigner appellate court, judges and, ultimately the Supreme Court. You know likely to get involved in a process that ultimately shouldn't be about. You know judges and legal questions right. It's it's, ultimately a question of: what's the consensus in the country of what should be done
these young immigrants, even as the legal in the political process goes forward. That's the question that hanging over these children is what will
the ultimate political solution or will it can t, be uncertain and left to the whims of you no kind of uncertain legal process, and that's it that's what we don't know the answer to
you no kind of uncertain legal process, and that's it. That's what we don't know. The answer to your thank you, my yes sure happy to do it
On Wednesday, prominent House Republicans came forward with a proposal for a strict immigration, though that directly clashes with president trumps efforts at a by partisan deal. The proposal
would crack down on illegal and legal immigration, and off
a three year. Renewable work permits the darker recipients without offering them a path to citizens
while the plan is unlikely to make it out of the house, it signals how difficult it could be for cod.
Greece and the White House to come to an agreement at the same time
some liberal Democrats, are adamant,
They will not vote for a government funding measure without a deal on immigration
funding is set to expire on January nineteenth
Here's what else you need to know on what
stay morning in a
you shouldn't white crackdown on illegal immigration, the Trump Administration dispatched federal agents
to read nearly one hundred seven eleven stores result.
Being in the arrest of twenty one undocumented workers in a statement, the direct
of immigration and customs enforcement said the arrests quote.
And a strong message to: U S: businesses, that higher and employees
An illegal workforce ice will enforce the law, and if you were found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable.
And your legal dreams forces told us, believes that in the next few weeks, the special care
Robert mauler will ask for some sort of an interview with you
Are you open to meeting with him there has been
no collusion between the trunk campaign and Russians or Trump, and Russian is no colors
questioning from reporters on Wednesday President Trump refused.
Say whether he would grant an interview to the special council in the Russia Investigation or request the White House,
back in the coming weeks. That marks a shift for the president who, back in June, said he was quote,
One hundred percent willing to testify under oath in the investigation, but at the White House on Tuesday Tromp was noncom,
would you would you be open to us you what happens? I'm certainly I'll see what happens, but when they have no collusion and nobody
found any collusion at any level.
Seems unlikely that you'd even have an interview. That's it today, I'm Michael Barbara. Sooner.
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Transcript generated on 2020-07-16.