AURORA | President Donald Trump on Friday told his fellow Republicans in Congress to “stop wasting their time” on immigration legislation until after the November elections. But there’s no indication that will be the case for Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora.
A spokesperson for Coffman said immigration negotiations are still taking place and a vote is expected next week. The congressman is visiting the southern border this weekend, after condemning the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy which led to children being separated from their parents.
Under mounting political pressure, Trump signed an executive order this week reversing that practice.
That move was an indication that Trump’s twitter banter is not always what goes.
“What Trump says is not the final word, and Coffman remains focused on comprehensive immigration form,” said Tyler Sandberg, a spokesman for Coffman’s re-election campaign.
Trump’s tweet on immigration legislation was the latest example of his abrupt reversals on issues, to the dismay of Republicans who crave his backing as a seal of approval for conservative voters. Just Tuesday, he met privately with GOP lawmakers and told them he supported the immigration legislation and would have their backs in November.
“Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November,” he tweeted. “Dems are just playing games, have no intention of doing anything to solve this decades old problem. We can pass great legislation after the Red Wave!”
The issue is particularly important to the constituents of Coffman’s district as a large portion of the population is foreign born, Sandberg said, a major reason to keep on pushing for reform.
Sandberg pointed out that a discharge petition that would force four immigration bills to the floor is just three signatures short or the required 218. Coffman was an earlier signer of that petition, which Sandberg said, is an example that Coffman is standing up to Trump.
But Coffman’s opponents in Washington and back in the district are unconvinced, and that suspicion comes as Republicans are facing an uphill battle this November as they seek to hold control of the House and Senate.
Headwinds from the controversy-embracing president and a wave of retirements in the House have put the GOP majority at risk there.
Democrats face a more challenging map to retaking control in the Senate, with the GOP eyeing pick-ups of seats in states Trump carried in 2016.
Democrats Jason Crow and Levi Tillemann, who are vying for a chance to run against Coffman, say the congressman isn’t doing enough to address the issue.
Crow held a campaign rally outside of Aurora’s immigrant detention facility earlier this week. He said if Coffman and the Republicans don’t act, they’ll be voted out.
“We will remember those who have the power to stop it but don’t,” Crow said. “Who had the power to speak up against it but stayed silent. Let me very clear why we are all here today: it’s because of career politicians like Mike Coffman that tweet posts on social media but fail to hold Donald Trump accountable, fail to propose solutions. We have had enough of this. Talk is cheap.”
Tilleman said the only solution is to impeach Trump.
Trump’s history of turnabouts has made it harder for congressional leaders to win over other lawmakers for the immigration bill. The measure would grant young “Dreamer” immigrants who arrived in the U.S. illegally as children a chance for citizenship — a move many Republicans worry would enrage conservative voters who’d view it as amnesty.
“You just fear that tweet in the morning,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a supporter of efforts to help Dreamers. She said members think, “The day’s not over. Heck, it’s not even noon yet. How many times could he change his mind?”
Despite Trump’s stance, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the chamber would press ahead on legislation next week. Differences between conservative and moderate Republicans delayed a vote initially planned for Thursday.
The bill would also require the government to separate fewer migrant children from parents when they are detained and finance Trump’s proposed wall with Mexico.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report