President Trump tweeted Sunday that a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children is “probably dead,” casting a cloud over already tenuous negotiations just days before a deadline on a government funding deal that Democrats have tied to immigration. Trump, who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, announced last year that he will end the program unless Congress comes up with a solution by March. The White House has not denied that Trump said the word “shithole,” though Trump did push back on some depictions of the meeting. The president also rejected as insufficient an immigration deal drafted by the bipartisan group of lawmakers who attended that meeting. Trump has said any deal must include funding for the wall as well as changes to make the immigration system a more merit-based structure.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 14, 2018 23:03 UTC