Trump Shoots Down New Bipartisan McCain-Coons Immigration Plan: It’s a ‘Total Waste of Time’

Jacob Pramuk, CNBC

President Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan immigration plan on Monday — even before it was formally presented by Sens. John McCain and Chris Coons — as lawmakers struggled to resolve an impasse over how to change the system.

McCain, R-Ariz., and Coons, D-Del., are set to introduce legislation that would protect hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants. It calls for boosting border security by 2020 but does not include explicit funding for Trump’s proposed border wall or some of the restrictions on legal immigration that the president wants.

In a tweet, Trump {snip} claimed that Democrats “seem not to care” about extending legal status for the young immigrants ahead of a “rapidly approaching” March 5 deadline when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is set to start phasing out.

{snip}

The president has pushed for funding his proposed southern-border barrier, limits on extended family migration and an end to the visa “lottery” system. Democrats appear unwilling to accept major restrictions on legal immigration.

{snip}

Congress faces another deadline this week. If it cannot pass a spending bill by Thursday, the government will shut down again.

{snip}