President Trump has offered to provide temporary (three years) protection for DACA recipients and persons covered by the TPS program, and reopen the government, in exchange for $5.7 billion for his boarder wall. DACA refers to people brought here illegally long ago as young children but who have lived in the United States most of their lives. TPS is the Temporary Protected Status program, groups of refugees allowed to come to this country temporarily during wars or natural disasters in their home countries. One example is people from Southeast Asia allowed to come here to escape retaliation for their support of the United States during and after the Vietnam War. These people would mostly now be 60 to 70 years old. Two previous presidents have told these TPS groups that they may stay.
President Trump ended these programs and told many they would have to leave.
Additionally there are now 800,000 American citizens out of work and diminished public and security services because of the government shutdown.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR A PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO DO, IS TO MAKE OUR REPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WORK AS WELL AS IT CAN. We cannot govern by shutdown driving us further into our respective partisan corners. We must re-establish the normal legislative process, created by our Constitution, to compromise and resolve our differences.
I cannot control all the hardships that exist in our society, but it is not in my soul to barter with people’s lives, future and family well-being, DACA, TPS or our government employees, for a political purpose. These people deserve a stable and secure future. Our country benefits from the contribution they make to our society. As president I will find a legislative solution to needed boarder security. I could not be so callus and cruel as to barter with people’s lives.
President Trump has acknowledged there will not be a concrete wall from sea to sea but rather improved steel barriers at priority locations. At this point Democrats should say there are some things to talk about and some things they cannot accept. I would re-open the government. I would provide permanent protection for DACA and TPS individuals. I would provide increased funding for the full range of boarder security measures including improved barriers in critical locations where most effective.
