On Twitter, Trump Pressures Democrats to Bargain on DACA

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump turned up the pressure on Democrats on Thursday to come to an agreement with Republicans on protections for young immigrants in the country illegally.

In an early morning Twitter post, Trump said Democrats “are doing nothing about DACA,” referring to the Obama-era policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Temporary protection for these immigrants ends March 5.

Trump is headed to West Virginia later Thursday to give a speech at an annual retreat for Republican members of Congress.

Trump proposed legislation last week that would pave a path to citizenship for as many as 1.8 million young immigrants in the country illegally in exchange for an expensive border wall, a crackdown on immigrants in the United States illegally and an end to decades of family migration policies.

In September, Trump effectively ended the DACA program, telling Congress to come up with a solution in a six-month period.

The president rejected a bipartisan proposal from senators last month, leading to a three-day government shutdown. Trump’s State of the Union address, in which he referred to immigrants as gang members and killers, did not signal he was amenable to a bipartisan deal he has said he wants.