Trump calls on Congress to change ‘ridiculous’ immigration laws

President Trump on Monday called the U.S. illegal immigration processing and deportation system “a whole big wasted procedure” in a pair of tweets demanding that Congress act.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, the laws of our country do not easily allow us to send those crossing our Southern Border back where they came from,” Trump tweeted.

As ridiculous as it sounds, the laws of our country do not easily allow us to send those crossing our Southern Border back where they came from. A whole big wasted procedure must take place. Mexico & Canada have tough immigration laws, whereas ours are an Obama joke. ACT CONGRESS

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

The president also said Mexico, Honduras and “many other countries” take advantage of U.S. immigration laws to send their citizens here. 

“Must pass tough laws and build the WALL. Democrats allow open borders, drugs and crime!” Trump added.

Honduras, Mexico and many other countries that the U.S. is very generous to, sends many of their people to our country through our WEAK IMMIGRATION POLICIES. Caravans are heading here. Must pass tough laws and build the WALL. Democrats allow open borders, drugs and crime!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2018

The tweets were the latest in a string of recent Trump complaints about immigration laws in the U.S.

On Sunday, Trump implored Republicans in the Senate to enact stricter immigration laws using the so-called nuclear option to rewrite filibuster rules.

{mosads}Trump has mentioned “caravans” of immigrants multiple times in the last couple days following a segment on “Fox & Friends” that described an “army of migrants” traveling from Honduras.

He has also stated in the past two days that he is no longer willing to accept a deal on a long-term fix for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He blamed Democrats for the failure to reach an agreement, even though the White House rejected multiple bipartisan proposals.

Trump had previously said he would support whatever immigration legislation was delivered to his desk.

The Trump administration announced last year it was ending DACA, an Obama-era program that allows certain immigrants brought into the country illegally as children to live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

The program is still limping along, however, after a federal judge blocked the administration from winding it down.

Trump’s latest tweets came the same day that The Wall Street Journal reported the Justice Department has for the first time set quotas for immigration judges, a change intended to speed up the process of closing cases and to help clear a backlog.