Some Republicans warn Trump against deporting ‘hardworking people’
Some GOP lawmakers are starting to warn the Trump administration to reconsider its all-in deportation push.
Why it matters: Republicans are convinced they have a clear mandate to kick out hardened criminals and gang members. But differences are emerging on how aggressively ICE should deport workers, longtime residents and some people who’ve sought refuge from brutal regimes.
- The White House wants ICE to arrest 3,000 people a day, and dramatically boost their deportation numbers.
- That could lead to more workplace raids.
Zoom in: Today’s dissent is far from a GOP rebuke of Trump. But the outlines of a serious debate are taking shape.
- Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) is urging Trump officials to “prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years.”
- Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) is worried about deporting people “that have been here for a while. There’s some talk of jobs, etc., and also disrupting parts of the economy. We need to work something else out for those,” he told us.
- Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) told CNN: “I think a big part of that is we all need to focus on convicted criminal, illegal aliens” instead of farm laborers.
- Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) told us: “I think there are some legitimate folks who have potential legitimate claims that if you send them back to a regime like Cuba or Nicaragua or potentially North Korea … we might be sending them to a situation where we frankly just don’t want to do that.”
President Donald Trump is celebrating the Army’s 250th anniversary — and his own 79th birthday — with a massive, multimillion-dollar military parade Saturday in Washington.
But one group of otherwise devoted Trump allies largely won’t be there to celebrate: congressional Republicans.
Among the 50 GOP lawmakers surveyed by POLITICO, only six said they planned to stay in Washington this weekend for the festivities. Those begging off include members of the Republican leadership in both chambers. [Continue reading…]
They snapped. They stared off into space. They zipped into Senate elevators and smiled as the doors closed with them safely inside.
This is how nearly a dozen Senate Republicans reacted Wednesday when asked the simplest question: Do you plan to attend President Donald Trump’s military parade in D.C. on Saturday, and are you comfortable with its estimated $45 million price tag?
“I won’t be here in town, but I wish I was,” lamented Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).
Asked about the tens of millions of dollars the event is going to cost taxpayers, Fischer walked into a nearby Senate elevator and gazed into nothingness as the doors closed. [Continue reading…]