President Trump on Thursday blamed House Democrats for refusing to support two GOP immigration proposals, accusing them of exacerbating the ongoing crisis at the U.S.–Mexico border.
The tweet came hours after a hardline Republican immigration proposal failed in the House and shortly after Republican leaders agreed to postpone a vote on a centrist compromise bill.
“You cannot pass legislation on immigration whether it be for safety and security or any other reason including ‘heart,’ without getting Dem votes. Problem is, they don’t care about security and R’s do. Zero Dems voted to support the Goodlatte Bill. They won’t vote for anything!” the president tweeted.
Trump’s tweet referenced a bill proposal from Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) that failed by a vote of 193-231, with every Democrat and 41 Republicans voting against it.
Had it passed, the bill would have provided a pathway to citizenship for around 1.8 million “Dreamers,” $25 billion in funding for Trump’s signature border wall proposal and other security measures, and would have prevented migrant families from being separated at the border.
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House leaders hope to take up a compromise bill, which is also supported by the White House, next week.
“We’re going to keep working — there are good ideas being discussed,” Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Thursday afternoon. “We’re trying to see if we can come to a consensus. So there are still complicated issues we’re working through, but we’re going to keep trying.”
On Wednesday, the president signed an executive order halting the separation of families awaiting prosecution for illegal border crossings, reversing days of assurances from the White House that such an order was impossible.