Despite the congressional chaos over an immigration reform plan, President Donald Trump will likely hammer out an acceptable deal that addresses the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Herbert London, president of the London Center for Policy Research, tells Newsmax TV.
"I think that the president's approach is the right approach," London – whose conservative think tank looks at national security, energy, and risk analysis – told Miranda Khan on Friday's "America Talks Live."
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"The president in the end will be able to put together some sort of alliance that will involve elimination of chain migration . . . The president in the end is likely to say, 'Give me the money for the wall and we'll work out some sort of deal on DACA.'''
People who have benefitted from the DACA program have been allowed to stay in the U.S. despite coming here illegally as children with their parents. The Trump administration instituted a March 5 deadline to pass legislation that would give them permanent protection from being deported.
Trump, who is seeking a merit-based solution, opposed a bipartisan immigration bill introduced by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, legislation that came up short in a Thursday vote. Another bill proposed by several Republicans also failed in a Senate vote.
If no legislation is passed and signed into law, hundreds of thousands of people would be subject to deportation.
"The idea of providing amnesty to two million people doesn't make any sense at all," London told Khan. "And I think there are some like Sen. [Ted] Cruz, who've made that point very clear.
"You cannot have insertion of 1.8 million people who came here illegally, although obviously many of them did not make the decision on their own. This is a decision that got made by parents. Nonetheless, if you're going to have an easy route to amnesty, it sets a precedent, I think, [that] is distinctly inappropriate."
The U.S. Supreme Court is meeting behind closed doors Friday to decide whether to fast-track the federal appeals process concerning Trump's bid to end DACA.
"I think the Supreme Court obviously has to recognize the fact that when DACA was introduced, it was introduced through a presidential decision," London told Khan. "President Obama made this an executive decision.
"That was distinctly unconstitutional. It's important to note the president did not have the authority to make that decision. So, when the court rules, the court is going to say, 'Look, let's see what the Congress has in mind.'
"If the Congress can arrive at some sort of understanding, with both sides of the aisle coming together, I think the Supreme Court will rule in favor of the Congress."
London, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, is the author of "Leading From Behind: The Obama Doctrine and the U.S. Retreat From International Affairs," written with Bryan Griffin and published by Liberty Island Media.
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