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Tuesday 5 sepTember 2017

US envoy tells UN: Trump’s DACA decision may

North Korean leader is ‘begging for war’ pass hot potato to Congress

By JILL COLVIN
By M. SANMINIATELLI North’s main nuclear test vasion. The North recently Associated Press
JENNIFER PELTZ site. requested a Security Coun- WASHINGTON (AP) — A plan President Donald Trump
Associated Press Also on Monday, President cil meeting about the war is expected to announce Tuesday for young immi-
NEW YORK (AP) — North Donald Trump spoke by games. grants brought to the country illegally as children was
Korea’s leader is “begging phone with South Korean The U.S. says there is no embraced by some top Republicans on Monday and
for war,” the U.S. ambas- President Moon Jae-in and comparison between its denounced by others as the beginning of a “civil war”
sador said Monday at an agreed that Sunday’s un- openly conducted, inter- within the party. The response was an immediate illus-
emergency meeting of the derground nuclear test nationally monitored mili- tration of the potential battles ahead if Trump follows
U.N. Security Council, as by North Korea was an tary drills and North Korea’s through with a plan that would hand a political hot
members called for punish- unprecedented provoca- weapons programs, which potato to Republicans on the Hill who have a long his-
tory of dropping it. Two people familiar with his deci-
sion making said Sunday that Trump was preparing to
announce an end to Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals, or DACA program, but with a six-month delay
intended to give Congress time to pass legislation that
would address the status of the hundreds of thousands
of immigrants covered by the program.
The move comes after a long and notably public de-
liberation. Despite campaigning as an immigration
hard-liner, Trump has said he is sympathetic to the
plight of the immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally
as children and in some cases have no memories of
the countries they were born in.
But such an approach — essentially kicking the can
down the road and letting Congress deal with it—
is fraught with uncertainty and political perils that
amount, according to one vocal opponent, to “Re-
publican suicide.” Still other Republicans say they are
ready to take on a topic that has proven a non-starter
and career-breaker for decades.
“If President Trump makes this decision we will work to
find a legislative solution to their dilemma,” said Repub-
lican Sen. Lindsay Graham.
Officials caution Trump’s plan, set to be unveiled Tues-
day, is not yet finalized, and the president, who has
been grappling with the issue for months, has been
United Nations U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley addresses a U.N. Security Council meeting on North
Korea, Monday Sept. 4, 2017 at U.N. headquarters. known to change his mind at the last minute ahead
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) of an announcement. It also remains unclear exactly
how a six-month delay would work in practice, includ-
ing the country with even tion. The two leaders also the international commu- ing whether the government would continue to pro-
stronger sanctions for its agreed to remove the limit nity has banned. cess applications under the program, which has given
powerful nuclear test. on the payload of South Russian Ambassador Vassily nearly 800,000 young immigrants a reprieve from de-
Ambassador Nikki Haley Korean missiles. Nebenzia told reporters af- portation and the ability to work legally in the country
said the U.S. would look at The emergency U.N. ses- ter the meeting that sanc- in the form of two-year, renewable permits.
countries doing business sion was scheduled after tions alone will not solve the House Speaker Paul Ryan and a handful of other Re-
with the North — which North Korea said it deto- issue and that negotiations publicans urged Trump last week to hold off on scrap-
include China — and nated the hydrogen bomb are needed as well. ping DACA to give lawmakers time to come up with a
planned to circulate a res- and came six days after “Resolutions aimed solely legislative fix. But Congress has repeatedly tried — and
olution this week with the the council strongly con- at sanctioning North Korea failed — to come together on immigration overhaul
goal of getting it approved demned what it called have not worked well be- legislation, and it remains uncertain whether the House
Sept. 11. Pyongyang’s “outrageous” fore,” Nebenzia said. would succeed in passing anything on the divisive
“Enough is enough. War is launch of a ballistic missile Diplomats from France, Brit- topic. The House under Democratic control passed a
never something the Unit- over Japan. Less than a ain, Italy and other coun- Dream Act in 2010, but it died in the Senate. Since Re-
ed States wants. We don’t month ago, the council im- tries reiterated demands publicans retook control of the House in late 2010, it has
want it now. But our coun- posed its stiffest sanctions for the Kim regime to halt its taken an increasingly hard line on immigration. House
try’s patience is not unlim- yet on the reclusive nation. ballistic missile and nuclear Republicans refused to act on the Senate’s compre-
ited,” Haley said. Still, the U.S. resolution faces weapons programs and hensive immigration bill in 2013. Two years later, a GOP
“The United States will look an uncertain future. Russia urged further sanctions. border security bill languished because of objections
at every country that does and China have both pro- French Ambassador Fran- from conservatives.
business with North Korea posed a two-pronged ap- cois Delattre said France Many House Republicans represent highly conserva-
as a country, that is giving proach: North Korea would was urging the adoption tive districts, and if the president goes through with the
aid to their reckless and suspend its nuclear and of new U.N. sanctions, swift six-month delay — creating a March deadline — the
dangerous nuclear inten- missile development, and implementation of existing pressure is likely to be amplified as primary races inten-
tions,” she said. the United States and South ones and new, separate sify head of the 2018 midterm elections.
The move came as South Korea would suspend their sanctions by the European One cautionary tale: the primary upset of former House
Korea said it was seeing joint military exercises. Union. Majority Leader Eric Cantor to a conservative chal-
preparations in the North Washington and Seoul say The North trumpeted that lenger in 2014 in a campaign that cast him as soft on il-
for an ICBM test and fired the maneuvers are defen- its sixth nuclear test blast legal immigration. That loss convinced many House Re-
missiles into the sea to sive, but Pyongyang views since 2006 was a “perfect publicans that pro-immigrant stances could cost them
simulate an attack on the them as a rehearsal for in- success.”q politically.q