Trump derides bipartisan DACA agreement

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump on Friday panned a bipartisan immigration agreement as a step in the wrong direction. Lawmakers signaled Thursday they had an “agreement in principle” to boost border security and provide funding for a wall at the U.S. southern border, along with providing long-term protections for immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. “The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican senators and congressmen was a big step backwards,” Trump tweeted Friday. The president criticized the agreement for not providing enough funding for the wall and not doing enough to curb chain migration. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) brokered the agreement. In a joint statement, the lawmakers said they had worked on the agreement for four months and now just needed to gather enough support to pass it. They did not release the details of the proposed legislation. Congress has until March 5 to pass a bill to protect DACA recipients or thousands of young immigrants will risk losing their protected status. Lawmakers only have until Jan. 19 to pass a spending bill to prevent a government shutdown. Democrats have threatened to force a vote on immigration as part of the spending package.