On Thursday, lawmakers brought President Trump a bipartisan immigration deal proposal.
Trump countered it with racism.
According to the Washington Post, a source familiar with the meeting reported Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) presented Trump a plan to cut the immigration visa lottery in half.
On behalf of a Congressional Black Caucus request, the remaining lottery recipients should be from underrepresented African countries and Temporary Protective Status (TPS) nations, like Haiti, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
Trump railed:
“Why do we want all these people from ‘shithole countries’ coming here?”
Trump then suggested the United States should instead invite more people from countries like Norway.
But he didn’t stop there.
He specifically singled out Haitians, advising lawmakers anyone from the impoverished nation must be left out of any deal.
Trump is reported as saying:
“Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.”
He then went on to suggest he would be amenable to Asian immigrants because of their economic benefits.
It’s important to note here that at a time when inconvenient facts are dismissed as “fake news,” White House officials did not dispute the account.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said Trump’s comments “will shake the confidence that people have” in the ongoing immigration policy talks.
He added:
“Democrats and Republicans in the Senate made a proposal. The answer is this racist outburst of the president. How can you take him seriously? They [Republicans] don’t believe in immigration – it’s always been about people of color and keeping them out of this country.”
Never mind Trump told a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday he hoped to come up with “an answer for DACA,” and it should be a “bill of love.”
Just when some might have thought Trump was softening his hard-line stance on immigration, his true feelings in all their raw, crass arrogance come forth.
Image credit: 15minutenews.com
