Suspicions that Trump would demand a high price for the protection of immigrants who arrived in the country as children came to fruition Sunday after the White House released a set of immigration demands, including funding for a border wall, to be met in exchange for a deal on Dreamers.
Trump’s so-called “immigration principles and policies” includes other hard-line proposals like withholding federal grants from “sanctuary cities”, limiting legal immigration by issuing fewer family-based green cards, and a crack down on Central American children, many of whom arrive in the country after fleeing violence in Central America.
The Meyer Law Office, which advocates for the rights of immigrants and has recently represented a number of high-profile immigration cases in Denver, was quick to condemn Trump for using Dreamers as a bargaining chip.
Principal attorney Hans Meyer, who is known for not mincing words when it comes to condemning Trump’s positions on immigration, quipped “we are in for a long winter as Trump grovels to the xenophobic wing of his base.”
Here’s his full statement:
“Trump’s immigration principles are rife with constitutionally-suspect demands, and his interior immigration principles are yet another attack on so-called sanctuary cities. Trump wants the Department of Homeland Security to trample on our Constitution, and the due process of immigrants. If this is his opening salvo in the debate regarding the DREAM Act, we are in for a long winter as Trump grovels to the xenophobic wing of his base.”
Meyer Law Office policy director Julie Gonzales, who’s running for a seat in the state legislature, offered the following statement:
“Last week, our office raced to process its very last DACA renewal applications before the October 5 deadline. In less than five months, thousands will become exposed to Trump’s unaccountable deportation machine when their DACAs begin to expire. The only ‘principle’ that this administration truly cares about is deporting as many people as possible.”
