April 2, 2018

Let’s Review the Tape on DACA

Michael Nigro/Pacific Press via ZUMA

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Just in case you’ve lost count, here’s a rough timeline of negotiations over DACA, the “mini-DREAM” act that protects immigrant children who have lived in the US for many years:

  • September: Trump kills DACA.
  • Later in September: Trump tells Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer that he supports a legislative fix for DACA if he gets more border security funding in return. They agree.
  • The next day: Trump denies offering this deal.
  • October: Trump suddenly releases a long list of demands that he wants in return for DACA.
  • January: Trump says he’s fine with a clean DACA bill.
  • The next day: Aides remind Trump that, actually, he’s not fine with a clean DACA bill.
  • Later in January: Chuck Schumer offers Trump border security funding plus funding for the wall in return for DACA. Trump turns him down.
  • Still later in January: Trump now demands “four pillars” of immigration reform in return for DACA.
  • March: The Senate takes up DACA. Republicans reject every deal offered.
  • Later in March: Enraged at the lack of a deal, Trump begins a Twitter campaign insisting that Democrats are responsible for killing DACA.
  • Yesterday: Trump unleashes a barrage of staggeringly ignorant tweets about DACA and immigration in general. He blames Mexico and Democrats for all of it.
  • Today: A reporter asks Trump, “But aren’t you the one who killed DACA?” Trump doesn’t reply.

This is the guy who claims to be the greatest dealmaker ever in history. He killed DACA; he refused every possible deal to reinstate it; he changed his demands almost daily; and he demonstrated approximately zero influence over Congress. So now he’s red-faced with anger and desperately trying to deflect blame for something that everyone knows he’s responsible for. What a putz.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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