House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi condemns Donald Trump’s immigration policies during her weekly press briefing with reporters at the US Capitol. She launched a bizarre rant referring to President Trump’s latest merit-based immigration proposal.
“I want to say something about the word that they use: Merit. It’s really a condescending word. Are they saying family is without merit? Are they saying most people that have ever come to the United States are without merit because they don’t have an engineering degree?” asked Pelosi.
“We’ll see what values are reflected there. Merit, which is not merit. It means merit, in the eyes of Donald Trump,” she added.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that “merit” based immigration is a “condescending” term
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) May 16, 2019
“We’ve only heard titles like ‘merit,’ which is non-merit. It means merit in the eyes of Donald Trump” pic.twitter.com/7hy956E0ib
The House Speaker’s comments come hours after Sen. Lindsey Graham revealed a series of new proposals regarding the nation’s outdated immigration laws. This new proposal would end asylum claims at the US border but would permit individuals to request asylum at US embassies and consulates across Central America.
Lindsey Graham displays poster on new legislation:
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) May 15, 2019
– Asylum must be filed in country of origin or Mexico
– Treat Central American unaccompanied minors like those from Canada, Mexico
– Families held together up to 100 days
– 500 new immigration judgeshttps://t.co/AfEIFrfeM5 pic.twitter.com/oQ6Tvhpq16
“If we do these four things, then the incentives created by our laws will cease to exist, this humanitarian disaster will begin to repair itself and I am willing to sit down with Democrats and find a way to address the underlying problem in Central America,” said Graham. “I am willing to put other immigration ideas on the table to marry up with this but what I am not willing to do is ignore this problem any longer.”