White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday said it’s up to Congress “to do their jobs” and create responsible immigration reform now that the Trump administration is phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“We have confidence that Congress is going to step up and do their job. We stand ready to work with them,” Sanders remarked just hours after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the administration was “rescinding” the Obama-era immigration program.
”If Congress doesn’t want to do the job they were elected to do, then maybe they should get out of way and let someone else do it,” she continued.
Asked if that’s a lot to put on Congress’ plate since immigration reform has eluded the legislative body in the past, Sanders said the White House has confidence that lawmakers will come through.
”They just came back from a three-week vacation,” she said, referring to the August recess. “I think they should be rested and ready to take on some big challenges that America faces.”
“It’s Congress’s job to create legislation,” she continued. “I think that’s something we all learned in eighth-grade civics. I know I certainly did, and I think that every member of Congress should know that is their duty and we’re asking them to fulfill it. It’s pretty simple.”
She said Sessions made the announcement about ending the program rather than Trump because it was a legal matter and it “would be up to the Department of Justice to make a legal recommendation.”
She said the president wrestled with the “difficult” decision over the weekend and rejected claims that he left hundreds of thousands of young immigrants in legal limbo until Congress acts.
”It’s not cold-hearted for the president to uphold the rule of law,” she said.




