Washington : US President Donald Trump, blaming Democrats and the Mexican government for an increasingly “dangerous” flow of illegal immigrants, unleashed a series of fiery tweets in which he vowed “no more DACA deal”, media reports said.
Minutes after wishing the nation a happy Easter on Sunday, Trump denounced “liberal” laws that he said were preventing Border Patrol agents from doing their jobs, reports The New York Times.
“Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch and Release. Getting more dangerous. ‘Caravans’ coming. Republicans must go to nuclear option to pass tough laws now. No more DACA deal,” Trump tweeted.
In two more tweets, Trump threatened to dismantle the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he called Mexico’s “cash cow”, if the country does not reduce the flow of immigrants coming across the southern US border, reports CNN.
The President followed up on his tweets as he went into Easter Sunday church service in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“Mexico has got to help us at the border. If they’re not going to help us at the border, it’s a very sad thing between two countries. 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 and we’re going to have to really see.
“They had a great chance. The Democrats blew it. They had a great, great chance. But we’ll have to take a look. But Mexico has got to help us at the border. They flow right through Mexico. They send them into the United States. Can’t happen that way anymore,” he added.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, known as DACA, gave protected status to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children, reports The New York Times.
The programme requires immigrants to have resided in the US since 2007, meaning any crossing the border now would not be eligible.
Trump announced last year that he was ending the programme, but courts have blocked his decision.
The President has said he was open to negotiating with Democrats on it, but has repeatedly backed away from potential deals that he argues do not include immigration changes that are tough enough. (IANS)
