United States President Donald Trump on Friday assured young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children that they will not be deported under the new laws. “[We are] not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals,” he said in an interview with AP to mark the 100 days of his accession to the White House. He said such immigrants can “rest easy” under his administration.
On March 6, Trump had signed a new executive order imposing a 90-day ban on the entry of people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from March 16, leaving Iraq out of the list. But a federal judge in Hawaii had blocked the revised travel restriction just hours before it was due to come into effect, a move Trump had called an “unprecedented judicial overreach”. More recently, he signed an executive order that introduces changes to the H-1B visa policy that companies use to hire foreigners for high-skilled jobs. The order – dubbed the “Buy American, Hire American” order – is meant to tackle “fraud and abuse” in the immigration system to protect American workers.
The president on Friday said he was still focused on building the wall along the US-Mexico border. “I want the border wall. My base definitely wants the border wall,” he said, adding that he was still unsure whether he would sign the legislation sans the required funding for the project.
Trump’s campaign proposal for the border wall and his suggestion that Mexico pay for part of the construction drew criticism from several quarters, including Mexican President Eneique Pena Nieto, who said his government will not foot the bill. The project is estimated to cost $2.6 billion (around Rs 17,064 crore).
During the interview, the businessman-turned-politician hinted at a “massive” tax cut for individuals as well as corporations. He is expected to overhaul the taxation system and unveil a new package on April 26. Although he remained tight-lipped about the possible rates, Trump promised that it will be “bigger, I believe, than any tax cut ever.”
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