Trump’s immigration reform talk lands with thud on Hill

via WordPress http://ift.tt/2m0GyUr

Washington (CNN)Hill lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had a similar reaction to President Donald Trump’s talk of a grand immigration reform compromise: We’ll believe that when we see it.

Despite wide support in Washington for a lofty ideal of someday reaching a bipartisan compromise on immigration, heavy skepticism remained Wednesday that Trump would be able to achieve such a feat, despite his remarks on Tuesday that he hopes to do so.

Many of the same sticking points remain that have always plagued immigration reform.

On the right, Republicans want to see enforcement of immigration laws beefed up first, achieving border security before addressing the estimated 11 million people already living in the US illegally. GOP lawmakers also have concerns about the cost of some of Trump’s proposals, including a wall along the entire Southern border, which some Republicans doubt is necessary.

On the left, Democrats don’t believe Republicans are serious about being sympathetic to non-criminal undocumented immigrants, some of whom contribute to their communities and have lived in the US for years without legal status. They also point to Trump’s rhetoric and actions on immigration as a non-starter.

Ultimately, lawmakers from both parties say they’re waiting for more show than tell from Trump on what he actually wants.

“As was the case with much of the speech, the blanks weren’t filled in, so I think at the end of the day on an issue as big immigration, an issue as big as tax reform, it’s going to require presidential leadership,” said South Carolina Republican Rep. Mark Sanford, a conservative who has been unafraid to criticize Trump.

“It was not found in the joint address — but it’s going to be needed,” Sanford continued.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said establishing border security would be a necessary first step, and that he wouldn’t discuss legal status before that was achieved.

“Before you even deal with that question, you’ve got to take care of these other things,” Grassley said. “That’s the most important thing you’ve got to build confidence for.”

Republican immigration hawk Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wouldn’t respond to media reports that the President was open to legalization, saying that he would wait to hear it from Trump himself — but signaled opposition.

“My view is we need to secure the border, which is what … President Trump talked about last night. We need to reform the legal immigration system. That’s also what President Trump talked about,” Cruz said. “I don’t support amnesty, but I’m not going to chase ghosts … I’m going to wait until we see specific legislative proposals.”

Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford said the wall had to be paid for, and Sanford echoed that concern. Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a moderate, also questioned the efficacy of a wall.

“There are parts of the border where an actual wall would be incredibly expensive for taxpayers and incredibly expensive to monitor,” Portman said. “I think there’s a way to do this, but not on the entire border.”

Meanwhile, conservative hard-liners said they heard no shift in Trump’s tone on immigration, despite the earlier comments to reporters.

“People heard other things, (but) I always heard Trump saying let’s make Americans feel safe first and then deal with all these other issues,” Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador said. “That’s what I heard last night and I have heard that from the moment he talked about immigration.”

Echoed Arizona Rep. Trent Franks:

“I heard last night on the news that there was a major shift — I have not heard anything from him yesterday or today that indicates any similitude to that, anything that I can find consistent with that,” Franks said. “If that has happened, it is absolutely without my knowledge.”

Read more: http://ift.tt/2mvaZVV

   

The post Trump’s immigration reform talk lands with thud on Hill appeared first on MavWrek Marketing by Jason