Chuck Schumer Claims President Trump Won’t Veto Democrats’ Amnesty Bill

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) scoffed at President Donald Trump’s demand that his immigration principles be included in any DACA amnesty, telling reporters Tuesday that Trump won’t veto a budget bill which contains a Democrat-drafted amnesty bill.

Speaking with reporters in the Capitol, Schumer predicted members of both parties would support a “fix” for former President Barack Obama’s likely unconstitutional “Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) maneuver that allows almost 700,000 illegal aliens to continue living and working in the United States. The Democratic “fix” for that program, which is now being phased out, would include a “path to citizenship” for at least 800,000 illegals, and likely up to 3.3 million illegal aliens, nearly all of whom are adults.

“He won’t veto the bill,” Schumer said of President Trump. “If DACA is in the omnibus, he will not veto it, is my prediction.”

Asked about reports that Trump does not want DACA attached to the omnibus spending package, Schumer answered laconically, “We do.”

The senior Democrat’s confidence appeared to stem from his belief he will be a more powerful influence on some GOP legislators than the president. “We think we’re going to have a number of our Republican colleagues join us. There are a lot of Republicans who want to pass DACA as well. So I am very optimistic it will pass,” he said.

Schumer has some evidence to claim some GOP support for a Dream Act amnesty.

For example, Republican Senators Thom Tillis (NC) and James Lankford (R-OK) have already introduced a “conservative Dream Act” that would compromise with Democrats by granting amnesty to 2.5 million illegals without securing any funding for a southern border wall, an end to chain migration, repeal of the so-called Diversity Visa Lottery, or any other tangible concession to the Trump-America First immigration agenda. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has gone even further, admitting any “Dreamer” amnesty is a prelude to full amnesty for all of the at least 11 million illegal aliens in the United States.

Schumer is confident we will be able to secure the necessary votes for amnesty is a matter of weeks. He told reporters he hopes to get amnesty done this year. “Here’s the bottom line: We feel very strongly that DACA must pass and pass by December 31st,” he said.

But a group of GOP Senators met with Trump November 2 and announced their opposition to any December deal. Those Senators included Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the GOP’s whip. “This is not going to be part of the year-end omnibus or CR,” said Cornyn. The “CR” is Congress-speak for an end-of-year budget package.

The most striking of Schumer’s claims is that President Trump would sign a “clean” DACA tied to a spending bill, without the inclusion of his immigration principles. After running on ending DACA on “day one,” of his administration, White House officials have indicated that the president is supportive of a path to citizenship in principle but wants Congress to cut chain-migration and the visa lottery program.