It’s the job of Congress’: Lawmakers on Capitol Hill dismiss Trump’s immigration plan
The White House is struggling to get Republicans to sign up to President Trump’s 70-point immigration crackdown plan, with key lawmakers saying that while they appreciate his input, they will take over from here.
Many Republicans chose not to respond at all to Mr. Trump’s plans, which include a border wall, a crackdown on sanctuary cities and a massive rewrite of immigration law to close loopholes that illegal immigrants have used to gain a foothold in the U.S. over the past two decades.
Among lawmakers who did weigh in were southwest border-state Republicans or lawmakers who have been deeply involved in trying to craft a legislative solution to protect Dreamers, the younger illegal immigrants whose fate has moved to the center of the immigration debate on Capitol Hill.
On Monday, lawmakers said it was time for the president to take a step back.
“It is the job of Congress, not the president, to make legal reforms to our immigration policies,” said Rep. Stevan Pearce, a Republican whose district covers the southern half of New Mexico.
Sen. James Lankford, an Oklahoma Republican who is offering what his office bills as the “conservative” alternative to the Dream Act, said Mr. Trump’s plan highlights the broken parts of the immigration system but that Congress needs to act.
