The Daily 202: Lawmakers baffled that immigration getting short shrift in Washington – Washington Post
With Breanne Deppisch
THE BIG IDEA is by Ed O'Keefe today. James returns to the helm Monday. Have a great weekend.
President Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accord on Thursday and Republicans are gearing up to return to Washington next week for the next round of debate on health care. But there's another pressing issue that's getting less attention but that lawmakers from both parties are warning needs it: a comprehensive immigration overhaul. That is especially ironic because many lawmakers believed immigration would be among Trump's first issues of concern given that one of his campaign's central promises was building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Im hoping that we can do immigration reform later in the year or in the coming years. Weve got to, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) told a chamber of commerce meeting in Glendale, Ariz. that I covered earlier this week.
Meanwhile in California, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) told the Code 2017 conference that Congress is failing to assist dreamers, the children of undocumented immigrants, and higher-skilled workers trying to get visas to work in the United States or to stay and continue working.
Thats partly because There are a lot of people who are the legislators who will make the decision at the federal level about immigration who do not have any experience with this population, she said.
We need to actually create more opportunities for policymakers and opinion leaders to meet with people affected by immigration policy, Harris added.
Seven members of Congress are planning to do that on Saturday during a visit to Tijuana, Mexico to meet with U.S. military veterans whove been deported south of the border. The veterans are either green-card holders, or legal permanent residents, or dreamers whove been deported because they committed minor, nonviolent crimes or somehow got caught up in the immigration systems crosshairs. In most cases, they were eligible for citizenship but didnt pursue it or misunderstood that the applications process wouldnt be any easier for them just because they served in uniform.
The lawmakers, all Democrats and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, plan to visit the Deported Veterans Support House in hopes of building support for legislation that would allow the veterans to return to the United States, obtain a green card and eventually apply for citizenship.
I know that right now Washington is consumed a lot by the Russia investigation, but Americans are also concerned about other issues like jobs and health care and education, but also that we do right by our veterans, said Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), who organized the trip.
"There are at least 230 of these veterans we know about who have been deported, who have served the United States, who put their lives on the line for their country and who now find themselves in a strange land, many of them have never known Mexico as their home at all, Castro added. Whether Congress has the political will to do anything is an open question.
Despite Flake and Castros pleas, Washington is consumed by the TRussia investigations yes, thats the nickname I use to describe Russia-related probes, please help me make it a thing and lawmakers are gearing up for months-long fights over health, federal spending and next years budget. Theres likely little space and time for anything else. Democrats like Castro mostly shut out of the debates over health care and the budget are frustrated that beyond the big-ticket legislation, Trumps not doing anything right now. Literally, what other bill besides the health care bill is he doing?
Castro will be joined on the trip by Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), chairman of the CHC, and Reps. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), Nanette Barragn (D-Calif.), Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Tex.).
Overall, 10,644 noncitizens were serving in the U.S. military as of last January and another 11,524 noncitizens were in the Reserves, according to Castros office. Most of them hail from the Philippines, Mexico, Jamaica, South Korea and the Dominican Republic. Its unclear how many noncitizens may have been deported to other countries.
Members of the CHC are pushing for passage of several bills to help the veterans. Grijalvas Veterans Visa and Protection Act would require the Department of Homeland Security to stop deporting noncitizen veterans and allow deported veterans who didnt commit violent crimes to return and obtain a green card. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a former Marine, has introduced similar legislation.
Vargas has proposed the Naturalization at Training Sites Act that would require that noncitizenenlisted service members or reservists be informed of naturalization options available to them when they begin basic training. The Defense Department also would be required to establish naturalization offices at training sites.
Barragan, a first-term Mexican-Mexican Americanr, said she is especially concerned that some immigrants enlisting in the military wrongly presume they can automatically obtain citizenship.
I dont want to say that theyre misguided, but I dont think theyre clearly told theyll have to go through the regular process and that they dont have citizenship automatically, Barragan said.
No Republicans are joining Castro and Barragan on the trip, but my understanding is that there is bipartisan interest in making sure that we are taking care of our veterans, she added. I cant see a better place to start than on this issue here.
Wondering whether the Russia investigations are expected to affect the markets? Or about what will happen to Trump's economic agenda. Then The Finance 202, anchored by Tory Newmyer -- who covered Washington for six-and-half years for Fortune -- is for you. It debuts Tuesday and you can sign up here.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:
-- The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to reinstate its controversial travel ban on Thursday night, asking justices to overturn a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that kept a freeze in place on the divisive executive order. Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow report: The 10-to-3 ruling last week was one in a series of legal defeats for the administration, as judges across the country have said Trumps claim of protecting the nation was cover for making good on a campaign promise to ban Muslims from entry into the United States. In turning to the high court, Justice Department lawyers said the 4th Circuit should have considered only the language of the executive order and not second guessed the presidents motivations. It would take the votes of five of the nine justices to grant the governments request, and require a finding that the government was likely to prevail on the merits of its argument and that it would be irreparably harmed if the 4th Circuits decision remained in place."
-- The White House is telling federal agencies to blow off Democratic lawmakers' oversight requests, as Republicans fear the information could be weaponized against [Trump]. Politicos Burgess Everett and Josh Dawsey report: At meetings with top officials for various government departments this spring, Uttam Dhillon, a White House lawyer, told agencies not to cooperate with such requests from Democrats It appears to be a formalization of a practice that had already taken hold, as Democrats have complained that their oversight letters requesting information from agencies have gone unanswered since January, and the Trump administration has not yet explained the rationale. The declaration amounts to a new level of partisanship in Washington, where the president and his administration already feels besieged by media reports and attacks from Democrats. The idea, Republicans said, is to choke off the Democratic congressional minorities from gaining new information that could be used to attack the president.
GET SMART FAST:
-- HOW TRUMP CIRCLED BACK TO NO -->Trump never liked the Paris accord, which he viewed as a bad deal and vowed to cancel during his presidential campaign, Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker, and Michael Birnbaum report. [Trumps] final, deliberative verdict was the same as his initial, gut-level one Even [as he] moderated months of often heated, and at times downright contentious, discussions among his own advisers, as well as scores of outsiders. Nonetheless, the debate over what Trump should ultimately do stay in the deal to push for changes or fully pull out roiled the administration
During meetings, Steve Bannon and Scott Pruitt and other allies came armed with reams of documents -- filled with numbers and statistics showing what they claimed would be the negative impacts on the U.S. economy if the U.S. remained in the climate deal. They were presenting facts and figures [Kellyanne] Conway said. Some of those opposed to pulling out of the pact, however, said much of the data the other side presented was either erroneous, scientifically dubious, misleading or out of date.
Some of the efforts to dissuade Trump from withdrawing actually had the reverse effect, further entrenching his original position. When Trump heard advocates arguing that the era of coal was coming to an end something Cohn told reporters on last weeks foreign trip Trump only became more adamant that pulling out of the Paris pact could help rescue the U.S. coal industry, said a Republican operative When he hears people make comments like Coal jobs dont matter anymore or Those are going away, he thinks of all those people who got the election wrong and didnt realize that, no, these people are important to us, the operative said.
PRESSURE FROM WORLD LEADERS ALSO BACKFIRED -->Several officials said last weeks G-7 meeting felt more like a Group of Six against One, as world leaders each took turns urging Trump to remain in the accord.
Angela Merkel pressed a moral-based argument: If the United States pulled out, what would be the message to countries in Africa that could suffer most from global warming and nations like Fiji that are drowning under rising sea levels? [Another] leader brought up political arguments And a third made an economic pitch But Trump seemed unmoved by any of the appeals, instead telling the group that this was what he had promised during his election campaign and that he was protecting his voters, according to the official.
-- THE RESISTANCE -->Representatives of American cities, states and companies are preparing to submit a plan to the United Nations pledging to meet the United States greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris climate accord, despite [Trumps] decision to withdraw from the agreement. The New York Times' Hiroko Tabuchi and Henry Fountain report: The unnamed group which, so far, includes 30 mayors, three governors, more than 80 university presidents and more than 100 businesses is negotiating with the United Nations to have its submission accepted alongside contributions to the Paris climate deal by other nations. Were going to do everything America would have done if it had stayed committed, [said] Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who is coordinating the effort By redoubling their climate efforts, he said, cities, states and corporations could achieve, or even surpass, the pledge of the [Obama administration] to reduce Americas planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent by 2025, from their levels in 2005."
[Trump] framed his renunciation of the Paris climate accord as an historic moment in defense of American workers and the economy. But the actions of state capitols and corporate board rooms offer a counterpoint to the rationale behind Trumps move, Steven Mufson reports. Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, and Robert Iger, chief executive of Disney, both resigned from the presidents advisory council after the announcement. Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, tweeted that Trumps decision is a setback for the environment and for the U.S.s leadership position in the world.
A NEW WORLD ORDER?
-- [Trump] has managed to turn America First into America Isolated, the New York Times David Sanger and Jane Perlez write: In pulling out of the Paris climate accord, [Trump] has created a vacuum of global leadership that presents ripe opportunities to allies and adversaries alike to reorder the worlds power structure His decision is perhaps the greatest strategic gift to the Chinese, who are eager to fill the void that Washington is leaving around the world[.] China has long viewed the possibility of a partnership with Europe as a balancing strategy against the United States. Now, with Mr. Trump questioning the basis of NATO, the Chinese are hoping that their partnership with Europe on the climate accord may allow that relationship to come to fruition faster than their grand strategy imagined.
It will take years to determine the long-term effects of his decision to abandon the Paris agreement, to the environment and to the global order. But Mr. Trump has added to the arguments of leaders around the world that it is time to rebalance their portfolios by effectively selling some of their stock in Washington.
-- Trumps decision to exit the agreement effectively denies science and abdicates U.S. leadership on the issue, former energy secretary Ernest Moniz said in a Boston Globe op-ed. [Trumps exit] diminishes US competitiveness in the developing multi-trillion-dollar clean energy global marketplace, abdicates US leadership on an urgent issue of global concern, and once again shakes the confidence of allies and friends about American commitment to collective obligations. History will judge the president harshly. Withdrawing from the Paris agreement is bad for science-based decision making, national and energy security, and innovation. Thursdays announcement will just make it harder and more expensive for America to adapt to climate change and mitigate its risks.
-- Trumps suggestion Thursday that he is willing to renegotiate the deal to make it fairer to the United States doesnt pass the straight-face test, says Todd Stern, who served under Obama as a U.S. special envoy for climate change. The Paris agreement for anyone who actually understands it is entirely fair to the United States. The idea that 194other countries will listen to Trumps insulting Rose Garden blather and say, Sure, lets sit down and negotiate a new deal is ridiculous. Instead, Trumps decision will be seen as an ugly betrayal self-centered, callous, hollow, cruel. The ravages of climate change have been on display in recent years in the superstorms, floods, rising sea levels, droughts, fires and deadly heat waves that will only get worse as the carbon index mounts. Vulnerable countries will look at the United States, the richest power on Earth, the largest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, and think even if they do not say how dare you?
-- Trumps Paris decision also underscoresa catastrophic failing from most major news networks, who did not devote airtime to discussing climate change or how Trump's election could upend global efforts -- during the 2016 presidential race. Kevin Kalhoefer argues: Media Matters latest annual study examining the broadcast networks coverage of climate change found that in 2016, evening newscasts and Sunday shows on ABC, CBS, and NBC as well as Fox News Sunday did not air a single segment informing viewers of what to expect on climate change and climate-related policies or issues -- including the Paris agreement -- under a Trump or Hillary Clinton administration.
The New York Daily News cover:
-- IF YOU READ ONE STORY ABOUT MOSCOW -->In the early weeks of the Trump administration, former Obama administration officials and State Department staffers fought an intense, behind-the-scenes battle to head off efforts by incoming officials to normalize relations with Russia, Yahoo News Michael Isikoff reports: Unknown to the public at the time, top Trump administration officials, almost as soon as they took office, tasked State Department staffers with developing proposals for the lifting of economic sanctions, the return of diplomatic compounds and other steps to relieve tensions with Moscow. These efforts alarmed some State Department officials, who immediately began lobbying congressional leaders to quickly pass legislation to block the move, the sources said.
There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions, said Dan Fried, a [State Department official who served as chief U.S. coordinator for sanctions policy] [He said] he received several panicky calls from U.S. government officials who told him they had been directed to develop a sanctions-lifting package and imploring him, Please, my God, cant you stop this?
Tom Malinowski, who had just stepped down as [Obamas] assistant secretary of state for human rights, [said] he too joined the effort to lobby Congress after learning from former colleagues that the administration was developing a plan to lift sanctions and possibly arrange a summit between Trump and [Putin] as part of an effort to achieve a grand bargain with Moscow.
INSIDE TRUMPS WHITE HOUSE:
-- The White House may have skirted federal ethics rules by retroactively granting a blanket exemption that allows Steve Bannon to communicate with editors at Breitbart News. The New York Times Steve Eder and Eric Lipton report: The exemption, made allows all White House aides to communicate with news organizations, even if they involve a former employer or former client. The waiver, which was undated, did not mention Mr. Bannon specifically, but appeared to benefit him by potentially dislodging him from a pending ethics complaint over his past discussions with Breitbart editors. It would also free him from restrictions on his future communication with the conservative media company. The waiver, and the fact that it remains unclear when it was originally issued, seemed unusual to Walter M. Shaub Jr., the director of the Office of Government Ethics, who questioned its validity. There is no such thing as a retroactive waiver, Mr. Shaub said If you need a retroactive waiver, you have violated a rule.
-- The White House is vetting conservative documentarian and Bannon ally Michael Pack to head the Broadcasting Board of Governors a position that would potentially give him unilateral power over the United States government messaging abroad. Politicos Hadas Gold reports: [Pack], the leading contender for the post, is president and CEO of the Claremont Institute and publisher of its Claremont Review of Books, a California-based conservative institute that has been called the academic home of Trumpism [Pack and Bannon] are mutual admirers and have worked on two documentaries together. Pack has appeared on Bannons radio show and wrote an op-ed in March praising Bannon as a pioneer in conservative documentary filmmaking. And should Pack be appointed and receive Senate confirmation, he would be the first person to lead the BBG without a board as a firewall: The White House could theoretically use the BBG for any kind of messaging, one senior U.S. official told Gold. People are generally worried about what might happen next because it would change the nature of BBG from having a CEO and a board and a track record for protecting independence to what might come next."
-- The Trump administration has approved a tougher visa vetting process, rolling out a new questionnaire that asks U.S. applicants to list, among many other things, five years of social media handles and 15 years of biographical information. Reuters Yeganeh Torbati reports: The new questions, part of an effort to tighten vetting of would-be visitors to the United States, was approved [by the OMB] despite criticism from a range of education officials and academic groups during a public comment period. Critics argued that the new questions would be overly burdensome, lead to long delays in processing and discourage international students and scientists from coming to the United States.
-- Bloomberg Businessweek, Social Security Cuts Target Trump Voters by Joshua Green: As a candidate, [Trump] set himself apart from other Republicans by promising to protect entitlement spending His recently released budget, however, shows that as president hes had a change of heart: It cuts almost $70 billion from Social Security disability benefits over the next decade. Those cuts will fall on some of his staunchest supporters. Of the 20 counties with the highest share of working-age adults receiving disability benefits, 17 voted for Trump, by an average margin of 56 percentage points.
-- FOR YOUR WEEKEND RADAR --> A secretive group of more than 100 power-brokers from across the globe aretraveling to Chantilly, Va. for this years Bilderberg Meetings an annual gathering of top government and industry elites, who will also be ranking the Trump administration.The Guardians Charlie Skelton reports: The secretive three-day summit of the political and economic elite kicks off on Thursday in heavily guarded seclusion at the Westfields Marriott, a luxury hotel a short distance from the Oval Office. The hotel was already on lockdown on Wednesday, and an army of landscapers have been busy planting fir trees around the perimeter, to protect coy billionaires and bashful bank bosses from any prying lenses.
Perched ominously at the top of the conference agenda this year are these words: The Trump administration: a progress report. Is the president going to be put in detention for tweeting in class? Held back a year? If ever theres a place where a president could hear the words youre fired!, its Bilderberg
WAPO HIGHLIGHTS:
-- Business sags at Trumps New York golf course as players stay away,by Drew Harwell and David A. Fahrenthold:President Trumps newest U.S. golf club a luxury-priced course in New York that opened in 2015 reported a 12 percent decrease in revenue over the past 12 months,as its banquet business sagged and golfers played fewer roundsThe records provide an unusual glimpse inside a business unit of the Trump Organization, during the period when Trump was seeking, then winning and then assuming the presidencyIn all, gross receipts at the Trump course dropped from $8.1 million in its first 12 months to $7 million in its second Itd be hard to imagine, with all the controversy associated with the Trump name, that its not impacting the fortunes of this course, [the president of NYC Park Advocates] said.
-- GOP super PAC tries to tie Georgia Democrat to Kathy Griffin, by Mike DeBonis and David Weigel: Griffin appears in a political ad from a Republican super PAC, attempting to wrangle Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff into a controversy that had mostly run its course.Liberal extremists have gone too far, says a narrator in the new spot. Now a celebrity Jon Ossoff supporter is making jokes about beheading the president of the United States. The ad is part of a $6.5 million anti-Ossoff effort waged by the Congressional Leadership FundThe CLF has spent months trying to weaken Ossoffs appeal to swing voters by tying him to left-wing activism and California donors.On March 31, it released an ad that showed anarchists smashing windows to protest Trumps inauguration and warned that they want Ossoff, a message repeated in the Griffin ad.
-- Far-right British politician Nigel Farage is a person of interest in the FBIs Russian investigation,The Guardian reports: Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the former Ukip leader had raised the interest of FBI investigators because of his relationships with individuals connected to both the Trump campaign and [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange whom Farage visited in March. Farage has not been accused of wrongdoing and is not a suspect or a target [and sources said it was likely his proximity to the heart of the investigation that was being examined. One of the things the intelligence investigators have been looking at is points of contact and persons involved, one source said. If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange and Trump associates the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage. Hes right in the middle of these relationships. He turns up over and over again. Theres a lot of attention being paid to him.
-- This years race for Virginia governor is shaping up to be an early test of the tectonic changes to the political landscape in the Trump era,Dalton Bennett, Gregory S. Schneider, Laura Vozzella and Fenit Nirappil report: The only other statewide contest in 2017 New Jerseys gubernatorial race is not considered competitive, so the spotlight is squarely on Virginia The three Republicans running for the partys nomination in the June 13 primary election seem to represent different threads within the part ... On the Democratic side, the race mimics the national partys struggle over its future direction as former congressman Tom Perriello mounts an upstart, neo-populist campaign against establishment favorite Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam.
SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:
As reports emerged that the White House would pull out of the Paris agreement, conservative commentators took a moment to criticize climate science.
The White House was jubilant about the announcement:
While others bemoaned the president's decision (using the Weather Channel's screenshot):
And speaking of Titanic:
Sorry, Leo. It did not pan out that way.
Sen. Heidi Heitkampbefriended the opposition researcher who's been tracking her.
And we swear that this is the last day we'll mention covfefe, but:
GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:
--Bloomberg Businessweek, Social Security Cuts Target Trump Voters by Joshua Green: As a candidate, Donald Trump set himself apart from other Republicans by promising to protect entitlement spending
His recently released budget, however, shows that as president hes had a change of heart:It cuts almost $70 billion from Social Security disability benefits over the next decade.Those cuts will fall on some of his staunchest supporters.Of the 20 counties with the highest share of working-age adults receiving disability benefits, 17 voted for Trump, by an average margin of 56 percentage points.
HOT ON THE LEFT
One Of The Heroes Of The Portland Attack Met With A Girl He Helped To Protect, from Buzzfeed News: Destinee Mangum, 16, and a friend wearing a hijab were the targets of racial and Islamophobic harassment on Portland's light rail on Friday night. Micah Fletcher, 21, and two other men Rick Best, 52, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23 stepped in to curb the abuse but were stabbed in response. Best and Namkai-Meche died as a result of the attack, and Fletcher sustained serious injuries to his neckOn Wednesday, Mangum met Fletcher at his house, where he's been recuperating, and gave him a t-shirt that reads, I love you and you are my hero."
HOT ON THE RIGHT:
Kathy Griffin enlists celeb lawyer to respond to 'bullying from the Trump family she has endured, ABC News: Just as the controversy surrounding the image of Kathy Griffin appeared to be dying down, comes word that the comedian has enlisted celebrity lawyer Lisa Bloom to explain why she shot the image and to respond to the Trump family's alleged bullying. Bloom, who has represented women who have accused Bill Cosby and Bill O'Reilly of harassment, tweeted Thursday night, Proud to announce that I represent Kathy Griffin. We will be holding a press conference tomorrow morning. A press release Bloom tweeted reads, Earlier this week, Ms. Griffin released a controversial photograph of herself posing with a faux-bloody mask of [Trump's] face. Ms. Griffin and Ms. Bloom will explain the true motivation behind the image, and respond to the bullying from the Trump family she has endured."
NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:
--Splendid start to June, from our Capitol Weather Gang friends. "Hard to get better than this in June! After a couple of stellar days with sunshine and dry warmth, we turn cloudier, muggier and unsettled with showers and storms possible by late this weekend continuing into early next week."
VIDEOS OF THE DAY:
Here's a fact check of Trump's speech about leaving the climate accords:
Here's Trump's speech, in less than 90 seconds:
Trump promises more jobs after Paris exit:
On a lighter note, newscasters can't believe it's June:
Excerpt from:
The Daily 202: Lawmakers baffled that immigration getting short shrift in Washington - Washington Post