Trump calls for ending visa program after NY attack

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday seized at the deadly New York City truck assault to step up calls for for stricter US immigration regulations, asking Congress to end a visa program that permit the Uzbek suspect into the rustic and announcing he might ship him to Guantanamo Bay.

In a day of harsh recriminations over Tuesday's assault that killed eight folks in America's largest town, Trump gave the impression to assign some blame for an incident that government have classified as terrorism to top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who accused Trump of politicizing a national tragedy.

Trump mentioned he would imagine sending the suspect, known by means of government as Sayfullo Saipov, to the military jail at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama tried however failed to shut. No detainee has been despatched to the Guantanamo jail since 2008.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders later advised reporters that Trump considers Saipov an "enemy combatant," a designation that would curtail his criminal rights. Trump known as the suspect "this animal" and lambasted the US justice device for terrorism suspects as "a joke" and "a laughingstock."

Since taking office in January, Trump has sought to increase deportations of illegal immigrations and restrict criminal immigration.

The Department of Homeland Security mentioned Saipov entered the United States in 2010 during the so-called range visa program, designed to offer a path to US residency for electorate from nations with historically low rates of immigration to the United States.

Authorities mentioned Saipov drove a rented truck alongside a bike path in decrease Manhattan, mowing down cyclists and pedestrians. Police shot and wounded Saipov sooner than arresting him.

Trump reprised what has been his stance as a White House candidate and as president - that harder immigration regulations must be a first defensive position against such attacks.

"I'm going to ask Congress to immediately initiate work to get rid of this program," Trump advised reporters at the White House.

"We have to get much tougher," he mentioned. "We have to get much smarter. And we have to get much less politically correct. We're so politically correct that we're afraid to do anything."

"I WANT MERIT BASED"

Schumer helped create the variety visa program in 1990 when he in the House of Representatives, however he used to be additionally part of a bipartisan crew of lawmakers who crafted an immigration invoice in 2013 that would have accomplished away with the program. That invoice used to be passed by means of the Senate however killed by means of the Republican-led House.

The program, by way of a lottery, selects up to 50,00zero folks per yr who obtain US visas, and in the end everlasting residence in the United States. Those selected undergo US safety tests sooner than being allowed to immigrate.

"The terrorist came into our country through what is called the 'Diversity Visa Lottery Program,' a Chuck Schumer beauty. I want merit based," Trump wrote on Twitter.




Sanders mentioned later that Trump does now not blame Schumer for the assault and would "love" to paintings with the senator on harder immigration regulations.

Trump on Wednesday additionally renewed his call for a "merit-based" visa device - which would prefer the extremely skilled - and for finishing "chain migration," which allows criminal immigrants to use for relations in a foreign country to come back to the United States. Trump mentioned there have been "23 people that came in or potentially came in" with Saipov.

Asked if legislation to end the visa program would be taken up, No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn advised reporters that Congress will have to first go legislation to protect illegal immigrants brought into the rustic as children, "and then the next thing we need to do is turn to our legal immigration system and see how we can change it."

Trump accused congressional Democrats of blocking immigration legislation that would make the country more secure.

"We have a lot of good bills in there. We're being stopped by Democrats because they're obstructionists. And honestly, they don't want to do what's right for our country," Trump mentioned.

Both the Senate and the House are controlled by means of Trump's fellow Republicans.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham criticized the Trump administration for now not declaring Saipov, who remained hospitalized after being shot in the stomach by means of a police officer on Tuesday, as an "enemy combatant."

"It's ridiculous to believe that one day of interviews in a hospital tells us all we need to know about Saipov's terrorist ties," Graham mentioned in a remark.

The criticism filed against Saipov mentioned he had waived his rights and agreed to speak to investigators with out an attorney provide.


As a presidential candidate, Trump known as for a total ban on Muslims coming into the rustic as a counter-terrorism measure.


Courts have blocked his latest executive action barring entry into the United States by means of folks from several Muslim-majority nations. Sanders mentioned the White House has now not ruled out adding Uzbekistan to the list of countries named in the commute ban.


In a speech at the Senate flooring, Schumer mentioned that "instead of politicizing and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, (Trump) should be bringing us together and focusing on the real solution, anti-terrorism funding, which he proposed to cut in his most recent budget."


Trump calls for ending visa program after NY attack Trump calls for ending visa program after NY attack Reviewed by Kailash on November 02, 2017 Rating: 5
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