Trump Plans To Sign Orders On Immigration, Mexico Wall

The Washington Post

Washington — President Donald Trump is planning to sign executive orders today enabling construction of his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and targeting cities where local leaders refuse to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation, part of a multi-day rollout of his long-promised crackdown on illegal immigration, officials familiar with the decision said on Tuesday.

The moves represent Trump’s first effort to deliver on perhaps the signature issue that drove his presidential campaign: his belief that illegal immigration is out of control and threatening the country’s safety and security.

Trump’s immigration efforts this week are widely seen inside the White House as a victory for the self-described populist wing of his inner circle — which includes chief strategist Stephen Bannon, attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions and top policy adviser Stephen Miller. But discussions were ongoing on Tuesday about just how far to go on some policies, in particular the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The 2012 initiative has given temporary protection from deportation to hundreds of thousands of people who arrived in the United States as children. Trump vowed during the campaign to reverse it.

It was not yet clear late on Tuesday how DACA would be addressed as part of Trump’s immigration actions, if at all, according to a White House official, because of differing views among Trump’s advisers and associates about the timing, scope and political benefits of ending the program or suspending it for new entries.

“Many options are being worked through on DACA,” the official said.

Officials are also considering, but have not decided yet, whether to indefinitely shut down the program that allows refugees from war-torn Syria into the United States. Trump may also put the entire refugee program for all countries on hold for four months, according to an administration official familiar with the options under discussion.

This official said that Trump will also potentially bar for 30 days any travel to the United States from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, until new visa procedures are developed. Trump may also ask the Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to evaluate if immigrants are being adequately screened for potential terrorist ties.

Today, Trump plans to speak to a town hall of employees at the Department of Homeland Security’s headquarters in Washington, where he is expected to sign the orders relating to the wall and so-called sanctuary cities. The effort to crack down on these localities will resonate with the Republican base, which has long criticized local officials who refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Later this week, officials said, the president plans to sign other orders restricting immigration and access to the United States for refugees and some visa holders from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, although the exact timing was being arranged late on Tuesday and was subject to change.

Senior Trump advisers such as Bannon and attorney general nominee Jeff Sessions were deeply involved in the extended debate about the orders, several people familiar with the discussions said. These people emphasized that the week’s actions are intended to start fulfilling Trump’s campaign promises on immigration and bring Republicans behind Trump on the issue.