Thread: DACA negotiators lean on Trump whisperer Lindsey Graham
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12-12-2017, 07:25 PM
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Joined in May 2016
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jaylove16
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WASHINGTON
Sen. Lindsey Graham is in a pivotal position to help craft a deal to help keep 800,000 young immigrants in this country.

The South Carolina Republican enjoys unique access to President Donald Trump that virtually none of his colleagues share. He receives regular calls from Trump on his cell phone. On Sunday, Graham joined the president for a round of golf in Palm Beach, where immigration was the main topic of discussion.
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Publicly, the White House is demanding strict changes to current immigration law and increased border security in exchange for sparing current DACA beneficiaries from deportation. In private negotiations, the president has indicated a willingness to cut a deal.

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Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. are pushing for a plan that includes the DREAM Act, which gives DACA recipients a pathway to legal status. It has support from members of both parties.

Flake told McClatchy that Graham’s line to Trump was important to their efforts.

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The Monday after the golfing excursion at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida retreat, Graham returned to the Senate with perhaps the most up-to-date set of demands.

“I think a good deal would be secure the border, change our immigration system to move towards a merit-based immigration system,” Graham told McClatchy. “Green cards should be limited to minor children and spouses and give the DACA kids a pathway to citizenship they have to earn...(and) secure the border with a wall component. I think that’s the deal. Graham’s readout of Trump’s wish list, which he appeared to endorse, isn’t the final word.”
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On Tuesday afternoon, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York was optimistic about reaching a deal before the end of the year.

Democratic aides said Graham was helping them get closer to a deal before the end of the year — if he can rally support from conservatives in his party.

Schumer told reporters Senate negotiators were “making good progress.”

Flake agreed that lawmakers were “getting close.”

Graham, when asked if he thought lawmakers could seal the deal by the end of the year, would only say, “I hope so.”





Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-...#storylink=cpy
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