Donald Trump 'posted reassuring DACA tweet after being asked by Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi'

'We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer'

Andrew Buncombe
New York
Thursday 07 September 2017 15:33 BST
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Mr Trump angered Republicans by brokering a deal with congressional Democrats
Mr Trump angered Republicans by brokering a deal with congressional Democrats (AP)

Donald Trump posted a tweet reassuring young undocumented immigrants that they will not deported in the next six months, reportedly at the request one of the most senior Democrats in Washington.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration sparked widespread controversy when it announced it was terminating a programme that had permitted 800,000 undocumented children and young people to remain in the US. The President said he was giving congress six months to come up with an alternative.

A day after Mr Trump met with Democratic congressional leaders and brokered a deal to increase the federal debt limit and finance the government until mid-December - a move that infuriated Republicans - the President tweeted a message of reassurance to those who may be affected by his decision to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) scheme.

“For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about - No action!,” Mr Trump tweeted.

Shortly afterwards, it was reported that the tweet had been posted at the request of Ms Pelosi, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives.

Bernie Sanders: DACA decision is 'ugliest and most cruel ever made by a president in modern history'

According to a The Hill, a Democratic aide said that Ms Pelosi had informed colleagues at a whip meeting on Thursday morning she had asked the President to make clear that DACA recipients will not be subject to deportation.

There were differing reports as to whether Ms Pelosi had called Mr Trump, or he had telephoned her before posting the tweet.

“Trump didn’t get the language quite what she wanted, but a Dem aide confirms Pelosi called Potus and asked him to tweet,” New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman said on Twitter. She later said, Mr Trump called Ms Pelosi, who is under pressure from Democrats to secure a legislative deal to allow young unauthorised immigrants who came to the US brought to the US as children to stay in the country.

After the meeting with the Democratic leaders at the White House, Mr Trump told reporters he believed they had made progress.

“We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer,” Mr Trump said. “Chuck and Nancy would like to see something happen, and so do I.”

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