CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      Politics

      Trump’s 72-Hour War on Immigrants

      Arpaio’s Amnesty

      Steve Bannon may be out of the White House, but with Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s pardon, Trump is sending a message that he’s still gunning for immigrants.

      Betsy Swan

      Former Political Reporter

      Updated Aug. 27, 2017 7:56PM ET / Published Aug. 26, 2017 7:20AM ET 

      Yuri Gripas/Reuters

      When Steve Bannon left the White House, some immigrants’ rights advocates breathed a little sigh of relief. It now appears that sigh was premature.

      In the last 72 hours, President Donald Trump’s actions have indicated that he will be unflinchingly aggressive in enforcing immigration laws—even if that means deporting people who aren’t criminals and shutting down the government.

      On Aug. 24, reports emerged that the president is inclined to end an Obama-era program that temporarily blocked the deportations of DREAMers, undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and either have jobs or are in school. Only people with no criminal records are eligible for the program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which also gives participants work permits. The program currently protects more than 750,000 people from being deported.

      Many Republicans (including, quite vocally, Attorney General Jeff Sessions) ripped into Obama when he set up the program, because he didn’t do it through Congress. They argued it was “executive amnesty”—a presidential power grab that they said was blatantly unconstitutional. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to end DACA on Day One.

      More than 200 days passed, however, and DACA is still running. But that may change soon. NBC News reported on Friday that the president is “likely” to end the program. It would be entirely in his power to do so.

      This week, the president also said he may refuse to sign government-funding legislation unless it includes money to build his big, beautiful wall.

      “The obstructionist Democrats would like us not to do it,” he said at a campaign rally in Phoenix, Arizona, “but believe me, if we have to close down our government, we’re building that wall.”

      It’s not an idle threat. Many Capitol Hill Republicans privately say a shutdown is only getting more likely. Goldman Sachs recently told investors there was a 50-50 chance it will happen this year, according to Axios. Congress must pass government-funding legislation next month to keep the government’s doors open. The likelihood that Republican leadership will be able to cobble together the votes for any significant wall funding—in fact, the likelihood that Republican leadership will even try to get the votes —is teensy.

      So, does this mean showdown? It’s up to Trump. And Trump seems unhappy.

      Shutdown wasn’t the only idea he floated at the Phoenix rally; he also said he was considering pardoning Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for defying a court order related to racist immigration enforcement practices. This seemed lost on the president at his rally, when he rhetorically asked the crowd if they thought the sheriff was convicted “for doing his job?”

      “You know what, I’ll make a prediction: I think he’s going to be just fine, okay?” he continued. “But I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy. But Sheriff Joe should feel good.”

      The president’s prediction of his own behavior proved correct. On Friday evening, as a hurricane hurtled toward the Gulf Coast, the White House announced that Arpaio—whose conviction sprung from the fact that he treated Hispanic people worse than people of other races—had been pardoned.

      Given this, Bannon’s absence seems like an afterthought. Senior staff will come and go, but Trump won’t change. And he’s put undocumented immigrants on notice.

      READ THIS LIST

      DAILY BEAST
      • Cheat Sheet
      • Politics
      • Entertainment
      • Media
      • World
      • Innovation
      • U.S. News
      • Scouted
      • Travel
      • Subscription
      • Crossword
      • Newsletters
      • Podcasts
      • About
      • Contact
      • Tips
      • Jobs
      • Advertise
      • Help
      • Privacy
      • Code of Ethics & Standards
      • Diversity
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Copyright & Trademark
      • Sitemap
      • Best Picks
      • Coupons
      • Coupons:
      • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
      • HP Coupon Codes
      • Chewy Promo Codes
      • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
      • NordVPN Coupons
      • JCPenny Coupons
      • Nordstrom Coupons
      • Samsung Promo Coupons
      • Home Depot Coupons
      • Hotwire Promo Codes
      • eBay Coupons
      • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
      © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC