The Note: The Trump Administration's New Immigration Rules

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February 22, 2017

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The Trump Administration's New Immigration Rules

The Big Story

"We're going to bring this country together," President Trump declared Tuesday, just hours before fresh immigration guidance was issued that stokes fears of tearing families apart. "We have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms," the president also said, hours before a senior adviser confirmed that the new travel ban will mean that "those basic policies are still going to be in effect" as were ordered under the old one – impacting the same seven predominantly Muslim countries. The words aren't matching the deeds in a White House that has already established that its words matter less than ever, due to the ease with which it has used those words to mislead and deflect. There is one truth that does come out virtually every time the president speaks: his belief that his election victory delivered a unifying mandate. When he boasts of the states he won and the Electoral College victory he amassed, the president is making clear that his idea of coming together is coming together behind his leadership and ideas.

The Sleeper Story

It was a quiet first day meeting the staff for the new EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt. "This is a beginning," he said, only hinting at the massive policy changes he'll be asking his concerned workforce to begin enacting. Pruitt's nomination and confirmation were hardly ignored, but they were overshadowed by higher-profile fights and bigger names asked to join the Trump Cabinet. But there may be no official with a broader policy portfolio than Pruitt, whose previous best-known interactions with the EPA were his lawsuits. Pruitt's initial address to workers did not mention environmental degradation or climate change; instead, he focused on making it easier for companies to comply with regulations. With emails between him and energy-industry officials set for release Wednesday, we'll learn more about what those kinds of relationships have looked like in the past for Pruitt.

The Shiny Story

President Trump's latest Twitter attack targeted "liberal activists," whom, he Tweeted, have "planned out" the "so-called angry crowds in home districts of some Republicans." Trump v. liberal groups is the fight the White House wants, as part of efforts to keep the conservative base engaged and energized, and congressional allies on the president's side. Members of Congress vs. their own constituents is the fight the president is trying to avoid. But the latter is the real story. Yes, the signs and the events are planned in advance. Organizers organize things. But how many members of Congress are prepared to ignore what they hear and see on the word of the president that it's essentially fake? For senators and House members, sharp questioning in their districts is just a piece of data. It does, however, add up.

TLDR

The Trump administration released new guidance yesterday outlining a sweeping plan to deport certain undocumented immigrants, striking even more fear in those communities, while a senior aide said on Fox News last night that the new travel ban targeting those seven Muslim majority countries will mean "those basic policies are still going to be in effect."

White House says mass deportation not goal of immigration memos despite fears among many

New memos unveiled by the Trump administration Tuesday outline a sweeping plan to detain and deport certain undocumented immigrants as well as add more than 15,000 immigration, border patrol and customs agents, but White House press secretary Sean Spicer said mass deportation is not the goal. One of the memos -- signed by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly -- says that the agency will "no longer will exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement" with certain exceptions including children, report ABC's JACK DATE and MEGHAN KENEALLY. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/immigration-memos-announce-15000-hires/story?id=45631883

Today at the White House

After his daily intelligence briefing this morning, Donald Trump will meet with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who's set to travel to Mexico City later today with Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. Trump discusses the federal budget over lunch and then holds a discussion regarding the budget with senior staff in the Oval Office. Trump ends his day with a legislative affairs strategy session.