It's time to build the wall — and, in doing so, prevent an estimated 690,000 DACA "dreamers" from being deported from the United States. It's a fair deal that could be scuttled only by intense and self-serving partisanship from the White House and the Republican and Democratic congressional leadership.
As almost everyone knows by now, DACA stands for "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals," a program created in 2012 by U.S. President Barack Obama that President Donald Trump says he wants to undo. Because the beneficiaries were brought illegally to the United States as children by their parents, it's hard to make a case that they should be punished. As a practical matter, most have grown up as Americans. They have few roots in their country of birth.
A deal seemed within reach after President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, agreed to negotiate. But now prospects seem to be fading, because the White House is insisting that building the border wall be part of the package — and Schumer and Pelosi say, no way. "This proposal fails to represent any attempt at compromise," they said in a joint statement.