Yea.. Of course...

Trump to Schumer: 'If there is no wall, there is no DACA'

By LOUIS NELSON

President Donald Trump reiterated late Tuesday night that funding for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border remains a requirement for any deal to shield undocumented immigrants brought here as children from deportation, a declaration that came hours after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would take wall funding off the table in upcoming negotiations.

“Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “We must have safety and security, together with a strong Military, for our great people!”

Democrats voted Monday to end a three-day government shutdown that began over an impasse over immigration and border security negotiations, with Democrats refusing to vote for a government funding bill unless it was paired with a deal to protect Dreamers. Schumer (D-N.Y.) eventually settled for an assurance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that the chamber would hold a vote on immigration in the coming weeks.

Schumer, who took withering criticism from some in his own party for what has been characterized by some as a negotiation defeat, informed the White House Tuesday that a funding package for Trump’s border wall that he had offered as part of last-ditch negotiations last Friday was no longer on the table.

"The thought was that we could come to an agreement that afternoon, the president would announce his support, and the Senate and the House would get it done and it would be on the president’s desk," the minority leader said Tuesday. "He didn’t do that. So we’re going to have to start on a new basis and so the wall offer is off the table."

While Schumer has said he intends to take funding for Trump's border wall off the table, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday morning that a deal to protect Dreamers was within reach and that the border security measures, including the wall, that the president has called for are necessary. The senator, perhaps the most moderate Democrat in Schumer's caucus, said all 100 senators agree that Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and that one sticking point has been what to do with Dreamers' parents.

Manchin also said that border security measures are important not just to combat illegal immigration but also to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. West Virginia is among the states hardest hit by opioid abuse, the senator said, and border security that goes beyond erecting a wall is needed.

"Then you have the border, border security, border wall, whatever you want to call it. They're getting into a tiff about this, Chris. We have to have border security. We know that. So if the president calls it a border wall, we do need wall. We need to repair some wall. We need to build some new wall. We need other technologies, too," Manchin told CNN "New Day" host Chris Cuomo.

"Fentanyl, which is a deadly drug, it comes mostly through the mail. Okay? Security, we talk about walls. We need everything. We need technology. We need drones. We need new agents We need border patrol. We also need dock patrol, basically, where it comes through our ports," he added. "We need high-speed boats to intercept. We're talking about all of this. So when you hear someone talk about just the wall, there's a lot more than the wall and we're going to do whatever it takes to secure this country."