THE APEX TIMES
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said President Donald Trump directed him to coordinate with Democrats on immigration legislation, while Mullin said any approach would not provide amnesty for people brought to the U.S. as children under DACA.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said President Donald Trump instructed him to work with Democrats on immigration reform, framing the task as an effort to negotiate changes to the nation’s immigration system while keeping the administration’s enforcement priorities intact. Mullin made the comments Monday, according to reporting, as lawmakers and immigration policy advocates continued to debate how the Trump administration should handle DACA and broader deportation and legalization questions.
In interviews reported Monday and Sunday, Mullin said the president’s direction included a requirement to engage across party lines on immigration reform, but he added that any proposal would not include amnesty. The distinction, as described in the coverage, is intended to address concerns that a path to citizenship for DACA recipients could be paired with a broader legalization framework the administration rejects.
The remarks come a day after Trump told 60 Minutes that his deportation effort may have gone too far. In that context, the administration’s position described in the coverage was that review and adjustment to enforcement tactics could continue even as the administration ruled out amnesty, including for DACA.
Reporting also described the administration’s emphasis on immigration reform talks as a practical matter of legislative feasibility and negotiations, with Mullin portraying the approach as working with Democrats to advance changes in Congress. The coverage did not provide additional detail on whether specific bill text is being drafted, or whether the administration would seek statutory changes rather than administrative actions.
The DACA question is likely to remain central to the debate. DACA generally refers to a program created in the Obama-era era for certain individuals who came to the U.S. as children and who meet eligibility requirements, with subsequent administrations taking different positions on the program’s continuation. In the reported discussion, Mullin’s public statement sought to draw a line between cooperation on reform and approval of amnesty.
Democratic lawmakers and advocates have argued for a durable legal status for DACA recipients, while Republicans aligned with the Trump administration have often argued that any legalization must be tied to enforcement and eligibility limits rather than broad amnesty. The administration’s stated position as reported by multiple outlets is that it will pursue immigration reform through negotiation, but without amnesty.
The next steps described in the reporting point to the pace of interparty talks inside the administration and the course of negotiations in Congress. While Mullin’s comments report an intent to engage Democrats, the coverage did not identify a specific legislative package, timeline, or legal mechanism for any potential DACA-related pathway.
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