Immigration policy adviser Carlos Guevara hit the Trump administration on Thursday for not reaching a deal with lawmakers on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, blaming Congress for moving the goal posts on potential deals.
“At this point, there is so little trust in this president and his allies in Congress, to be quite frank with you,” Guevara told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.” “Many of us in the past year have gone in with an open mind and open heart to see if we can find a bipartisan solution.”
“At least five times by my count, we’ve had opportunities and offers presented to this president, and each time the goal post has been moved,” Guevara continued.
“Unfortunately, I don’t see a scenario wherein the balance of this Congress, we have a situation where there’s enough trust in this administration and his allies in Congress to get something done that would find a lasting solution for these dreamers,” he added.
Guevara’s comments come nearly a year after President Trump announced his administration would move to end the Obama-era program, which has allowed nearly 800,000 people brought to the country illegally as children — often known as “Dreamers” — to receive permits to work and go to school, as well as deferral from deportation.
The decision has since faced a slew of legal challenges.
A federal judge ruled last Friday that the Trump administration must fully restore DACA because it did not provide justification for ending the program.
However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions vowed to push forward with efforts to end the program.
“Not only did the Trump Administration have the authority to withdraw this guidance letter, it had a duty to do so,” Sessions said in a statement.
— Julia Manchester
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