Montini: Can John McCain free Donald Trump's DACA hostages?
EJ Montini: The president now recognizes 'dreamers' as people. But he wants a lot of cash to free them.
EJ Montini
President Donald Trump now acknowledges that “dreamers” are … people.
It was a big step.
For him, anyway.
Trump says he is willing to offer a path to citizenship for the 1.8 million undocumented young people who are covered or would be covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Their freedom comes with a price
By making that concession, Trump is admitting that dreamers are not criminals or rapists or any other evil incarnate, but young men and women, boys and girls, who have grown up in the United States and are worthy of staying here.
He believes them to be valuable.
Really valuable.
So valuable, in fact, that he is holding them hostage. If Congress wishes to free them, members must meet his demands.
Trump will release the dreamers from his clutches and allow them to remain in the U.S. in exchange for money.
Lots and lots and LOTS of money.
Kidnapping or politics?
In the real world we might refer to such a demand as kidnapping and extortion.
In Washington, D.C., it’s just politics.
Trump wants $25 billion for his border wall and even more money for infrastructure and technology. And he wants to end to family migration beyond spouses and minor children.
It’s a terrible thing to use human beings as pawns.
To hold them for ransom.
Sen. John McCain and Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat, would like to fix this. They have introduced a bill that would deal with the DACA problem, creating a pathway to citizenship for dreamers, and also provide money for border security.
A solution without a wall
But not for a wall.
In a statement, McCain said, “Our legislation, which already has broad support in the House of Representatives, would address the most urgent priorities of protecting Dreamers, strengthening border security, alleviating the backlog in immigration courts, and addressing the root causes of illegal immigration.”
Trump doesn’t care about all that.
He wants his wall.
He tweeted:
A competent kidnapper always ends his ransom note with a shrill demand that carries with it an unspoken, unwritten threat.
“Make the Deal!” Trump says in his tweet, without having to add the obvious …
“Or else.”
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