Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Discusses Immigration in Meeting With Trump
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks with members of the media after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York. Andrew Harnick / AP Photo
Emanuel delivered a letter signed by 15 other mayors, who are calling for the continuation of a program that shields young people from deportation.
During a meeting with president-elect Donald J. Trump in New York on Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago voiced support for a program that provides a way to avoid deportation for people who came to the U.S. illegally as children.
Emanuel told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower that he delivered a letter to Trump, signed by over a dozen mayors, urging the president-elect to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, until broader immigration reforms are enacted.
"I was clear about where I stood and other mayors stood on immigrants," Emanuel said in remarks recorded by C-SPAN after the meeting. "That we welcome them."
Trump campaigned on a hardline stance against illegal immigration. He vowed to rescind executive actions by President Obama that involve the DACA program.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting DACA applications in 2012. Since that time, 741,546 first-time applications had been approved as of June 30, according to Citizenship and Immigration Services figures.
DACA does not provide a pathway to residency or permanent citizenship, but it does protect people who immigrated to the U.S. illegally from deportation and authorizes them to work.
To be eligible for the program a person has to meet a number of requirements, including having arrived in the U.S. before they were 16 years-old and having been under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012.
They also need to provide proof they are in school, have a high school diploma or GED, or an honorable military discharge. And they cannot have a criminal record with felonies or significant misdemeanors.
“They're trying to achieve the American Dream,” Emanuel said of those covered by DACA.
“No fault of their own their parents came here,” he added. “We should embrace them, rather than do a bait and switch.”
In their letter to Trump, the mayors make a case that DACA helps with economic growth, public safety and national security.
“These youth have deep economic and social ties to our nation,” the letter says. “Many of them have been educated in American schools and employed by American business owners. They paid fees, submitted fingerprints and underwent background checks.”
Along with Emanuel, 15 other mayors, one former mayor and one county executive signed the letter.
Signatories included: Mayor Megan Barry of Nashville Tennessee; Mayor Bill di Blasio of New York City; Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles; Mayor Robert Garcia of Long Beach, California; Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver; Mayor Betsy Hodges of Minneapolis; Mayor Jim Kenney of Philadelphia; Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco; Isiah Leggett County Executive, Montgomery County, Maryland; Mayor Sam Liccardo of San Jose, California; Mayor Ed Murray of Seattle; Former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore; Mayor Francis Slay of St. Louis; Mayor Greg Stanton of Phoenix; Mayor Sylvester Turner of Houston; and Mayor Marty Walsh of Boston.
During the meeting with Trump, Emanuel said he also "spoke out strongly about what it means to be a sanctuary city."
Sanctuary cities are another flashpoint in the immigration debate.
There is no legal definition for the term. But it typically refers to places that limit their cooperation with federal authorities when it comes to detaining illegal immigrants.
Trump has taken the position that his administration will block federal funding that goes to these jurisdictions.
Emanuel said a number of other topics were discussed in the meeting as well, including infrastructure, education, job creation, and White House operations. Prior to getting elected as mayor in 2011, Emanuel served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Obama. He said Trump's senior advisor and his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, were at Wednesday's meeting.
People eligible for the DACA program are often referred to as "Dreamers."
Trump referred to the term in an interview published Wednesday by Time, which has named him "Person of the Year."
"I want Dreamers for our children also," Trump told the publication. "We’re going to work something out. On a humanitarian basis it’s a very tough situation. We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud. But that’s a very tough situation."
Bill Lucia is a reporter for Government Executive's Route Fifty and is based in Washington, D.C.
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