Trump supporters furious over immigration backdown

SOME of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters are talking about “impeachment” after he struck a deal with some of the Republicans’ arch enemies.

The US President sat down on Wednesday night with some of his staunchest critics — top Democrats Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi — to discuss immigration issues.

Frustrated with the cat-herding exercise that is dealing with the Congress, Mr Trump has become all about bipartisanship of late, reaching across the aisle to score some wins.

He blindsided his party last week when he went around the Republican leadership to extend the US debt limit and keep the government running, with the agreement of the Democrats.

He appeared revived that tactic this week when he invited Senator Schumer and Ms Pelosi to the White House to resolve the contentious issue of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a policy that saved nearly 800,000 foreigners who illegally entered American soil as minors from being kicked out of the country.

The Democrats declared victory after the meeting, declaring in a joint statement that Mr Trump had agreed to protect the so-called “Dreamers” and establish a border security policy that was “acceptable to both sides”. Importantly, these policies would be implemented without making progress on Mr Trump’s proposed border wall between the US and Mexico.

Mr Trump tweeted in support of the Dreamers on Thursday morning.

Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

...They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own - brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

Mr Trump’s embrace of DACA goes against the hard-line anti-illegal-immigration stance he took while running for President and his 2016 promise to “terminate” the policy.

Republican Congressman Steve King led the chorus of criticism from Mr Trump’s own side, saying that the deal to protect the young immigrants would destroy his relationship with his supporter base.

“Trump base is blown up, destroyed, irreparable and disillusioned beyond repair. No promise is credible,” he tweeted.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter — who once wrote a book called In Trump We Trust — was similarly incensed, going so far as to tweet “At this point, who DOESN’T want Trump impeached?”

She followed this incendiary comment with a series of broadsides.

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