Tag: Donald Trump

President Trump Has Decided to Terminate the DACA Immigration Program, Report Says. (WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is expected to announce that he will end protections for young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, but with a six-month delay, people familiar with the plans said Sunday. The delay in the formal dismantling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program would be intended to give Congress time to decide whether it wants to address the status of the so-called Dreamers in legislation, according to two people familiar with the president's thinking. Trump has been wrestling for months with what to do with the Obama-era DACA program, which has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants a reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the form of two-year, renewable work permits. It would be up to congressional lawmakers to pass a measure to protect those who have been covered under the program. "These are kids who know no other country, who are brought here by their parents and don't know another home. The Obama administration created the DACA program in 2012 as a stopgap to protect some young immigrants from deportation as they pushed unsuccessfully for a broader immigration overhaul in Congress. It mimicked versions of the so-called DREAM Act, which would have provided legal status for young immigrants but was never passed by Congress. The House under Democratic control passed a Dream Act in 2010 but it died in the Senate. But since Republicans retook control of the House in late 2010, it has grown increasingly hardline on immigration, killing the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill in 2013 and failing to even take up a GOP border security bill two years later because of objections from conservatives.

Trump praises Coast Guard, swipes at media in Texas. President Trump praised the Coast Guard and took a swipe at the media Saturday during a stop on his trip to Texas to visit victims and local responders in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. “I hear the Coast Guard saved 11,000 people," Trump told the Coast Guard and other first responders at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston before leaving for Louisiana. "Think of it, almost 11,000 people by going into winds that the media would not go into," Trump continued, before gesturing toward the press, "They will not go into those winds, unless it’s a really good story." The president looked to set a different tone during his visit on Saturday, visiting those who had sought shelter after the storm and handing out food. "It’s been really nice. It’s been a wonderful thing," Trump said after visiting a shelter in Houston. "As tough as this was, it’s been a wonderful thing, I think even for the country to watch it and for the world to watch. It’s been beautiful." The death toll from the storm, which stands at 47, is expected to grow as search and rescue teams look for missing people.

Sunday shows preview: Trump faces aftermath of Harvey. The president and first lady Melania Trump met with volunteers and were photographed handing out food to people and playing with children at a shelter. "We saw a lot of happiness," the president told reporters after visiting Houston's NRG Center. “It’s been really nice. It’s been a wonderful thing,” he said. Greg Abbott (R), who has touted close communication with Trump in recent days, is also slated to appear on CNN's "State of the Union" and "Fox News Sunday," while Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) will be on NBC's "Meet the Press." CBS’s “Face the Nation”: Turner and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long will discuss Harvey recovery efforts and the storm’s aftermath on the program. CNN’s “State of the Union”: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) will appear on the program to discuss recovery efforts in his state. “Fox News Sunday”: Abbott and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin will make appearances on the program.

The Justice Department confirmed in a court filing late Friday that neither it nor the FBI has evidence that Trump Tower was the target of surveillance efforts by the Obama administration during the 2016 presidential election. The Motion for Summary Judgement was filed in D.C. district court in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the watchdog group American Oversight, which is seeking government records of surveillance in Trump Tower. The motion confirms that neither the FBI nor the Justice Department's National Security Division have records documenting wiretaps as alleged by President Trump in a series of tweets earlier this year. The Friday filing marked the Justice Department's first official denial of the substance of Trump's wiretapping tweets earlier this year. But the Trump administration did not provide evidence that such surveillance took place, and a spokesman for Obama rejected that the administration wiretapped the real estate mogul's building. Likewise, former FBI Director James Comey, whom Trump fired in May, denied that the Obama administration surveilled the Trump campaign. "The FBI and Department of Justice have now sided with former Director Comey and confirmed in writing that President Trump lied when he tweeted that former President Obama ‘wiretapped’ him at Trump Tower," Austin Evers, America Oversight's executive director, said in a statement. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in March that documents provided to lawmakers by the Justice Department provided no evidence to support the president's wiretapping claim. The Justice Department also said in the motion on Friday, however, that it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of other responsive records related to wiretaps that fall outside of those described by Trump in March. Updated: 3:45 p.m.

Trump returns to Texas for visit with hurricane victims. President Trump returned to Texas on Saturday to tour flood-devastated areas, and met with volunteers and victims of Hurricane Harvey. "People appreciate what's been done. It's been done very efficiently and very well," Trump said following the visit to a Houston disaster relief center, ABC News reported. "As tough as this was [the response] has been a wonderful thing, I think, even for the country to watch." He and First Lady Melania Trump handed out food and played with children at the center that temporarily houses evacuees. Trump landed in Houston at around noon on Saturday to meet with the Texas delegation as well as volunteers and victims from the storm that devastated parts of southeast Texas last weekend. On his previous visit last Tuesday, Trump was briefed on the disaster recovery and search and rescue efforts by a number of federal, state and local officials, and avoided visiting the hardest hit areas as not to divert valuable resources from the ongoing operations, according to CNN. However, critics called his first appearance a failed test for the new president and one that lacked empathy. The president is also set to visit Louisiana on Saturday, and tour areas that sustained severe damage from the massive storm.

Trump jokes his hands are 'too big' while serving food to Harvey victims. President Trump joked that his hands were “too big” while putting on plastic gloves to serve food to victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston on Saturday. Video broadcast by Fox News shows Trump working at a food serving line at NRG Stadium in Houston. While putting on gloves, Trump turned to the members of the press and said “my hands are too big.” Trump returned to Texas on Saturday to visit with victims affected by Hurricane Harvey and volunteers coordinating relief efforts. Alongside first lady Melanie Trump, the two handed out food and played with children at the evacuation center. "People appreciate what's been done. It's been done very efficiently and very well," Trump said following the visit to a Houston disaster relief center, according to a White House pool report. "As tough as this was [the response] has been a wonderful thing, I think, even for the country to watch." But some critics argued that trip lacked the president meeting with storm victims personally. The president is also set to visit Louisiana on Saturday, which was also ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.

Trump Praised His New Chief of Staff After a Report That He's Already Sick of Him. President Donald Trump praised his new chief of staff John Kelly on Friday morning, seeming to push back on a new report that he's already bridling at Kelly's leadership. "General John Kelly is doing a great job as Chief of Staff," Trump said on Twitter. "I could not be happier or more impressed - and this Administration continues to get things done at a record clip. Many big decisions to be made over the coming days and weeks. AMERICA FIRST!" His comments came hours after the Washington Post reported that "some of Trump’s friends fear that the short-tempered president is on an inevitable collision course with" Kelly, because "Trump chafes at some of the retired Marine Corps general’s moves to restrict access to him since he took the job almost a month ago." Kelly took over the top post after Reince Priebus was ousted in July. He's so far used his new position to try to impose order on a chaotic White House.

Those Who Were Barred From U.S. During Trump's First Travel Ban Can Reapply for Visas. Under the terms of the settlement, the government agreed to notify an unspecified number of people overseas who were banned that they can reapply for visas with the help of a Department of Justice liaison for a three-month period. In return, the plaintiffs said they would drop all their claims. Gerlent said it's unclear how many people will benefit from the settlement because the government has refused to disclose the total. A DOJ statement read, "Although this case has been moot since March, when the president rescinded the original executive order and issued a new one that does not restrict the entry of Iraqi nationals, the U.S. government has elected to settle this case on favorable terms." The ACLU, along with the National Immigration Law Center and the International Refugee Assistance Project, sued on behalf of two Iraqui nationals after the Trump administration implemented a policy Jan. 27 that barred entry of visa-holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. One of the plaintiffs was Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a translator who has done work for the U.S. military, who was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport. A federal judge blocked the ban eight days later in a ruling upheld by a circuit court. Rather than pursue an appeal, the administration said it would revise the policy. In June, the Supreme Court found that the narrower order could be enforced if those visitors lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States."

Donald Trump’s handwriting ‘coming along nicely’, teacher says. Donald Trump’s penmanship is improving by leaps and bounds since becoming president according to his private tutor. As president, Trump is often required to write handwritten notes to staff as well as dignitaries and world leaders. This was considered something of a problem as Trump hadn’t written a single word since leaving high school at the age of 32. But after dedicating himself to private tuition, the president’s handwriting is ‘coming along nicely’, or so says his private tutor. ‘He can be a bit of a handful in class because he’s so easily distracted. But when he’s focused he’s as capable as anyone I’ve ever taught,’ said Ms Hancock, who typically teaches junior school students who require extra help. Ms Hancock told us that the secret seems to be focusing him on Ivanka Trump. ‘He writes a lot of deeply passionate notes to Ivanka about how much he loves her. Ivanka, I’m assuming is his wife,’ she said.