By Ryman Curtis
On Easter morning, President Donald J. Trump wished the country a happy Easter. In a series of subsequent tweets, he announced an end to his willingness to negotiate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, otherwise known as DACA. The President urged the Republican-controlled Congress to “use [the] Nuclear Option if necessary, to stop the massive inflow of Drugs and People.” The statement is the most recent in President Trump’s continued focus on building a border wall, the construction of which began in earnest the weekend prior to the President’s tweets.
President Trump singled out “caravans” of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, calling on Mexico to halt the migrants in their country before they cross the border. According to Politico, the caravan that the President is referring to is most likely a group of approximately 1,000 Hondurans traveling to the United States through Mexico. The group departed Honduras after the reelection of conservative Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, in which Hernández narrowly defeated the social democrat Salvador Nasralla in an election criticized for irregularities in voting results and tabulation. The group of people, which grew significantly in size as it crossed the Honduras-Mexico border, will not ultimately arrive in the United States, ending their trek in Mexico City in the upcoming days. The group is not stopping because of the President’s warnings, but due to the sheer number of people that have joined them. Irineo Mujica, one of the organizers of the group, told the Washington Post that it had become “impossible to travel with this many people.” However, the Post reports that most of the group will attempt the journey to the United States in smaller groups or individually.
Drew students have been following the DACA debate closely. Victoria Adams (’21) pointed out, “Trump spent Easter glorifying Christ, who was a Middle Eastern refugee, but decides to push away DACA recipients and others who want to enter the country.” With the President beginning to take steps toward deploying the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border, the fight over DACA is, despite the President’s unwillingness to negotiate, most likely only getting started.
Photo Courtesy of CNN
