Washington
US President Donald Trump said he was open to an immigration agreement with Democrats but ruled out amnesty, while backing a bipartisan permitting bill and insisting he would not approve wind turbines.
Speaking at an impromptu White House press conference, Trump offered few details on a possible immigration compromise. His remarks came during a wide-ranging exchange that also covered military operations, election disputes and Cuba.
Asked whether he could reach a deal with Democrats on immigration, Trump said: “We're not going to have amnesty or anything.”
He said people would have to follow the proper process, arguing that doing otherwise would be unfair to others. He did not outline eligibility rules, a timetable or the terms he would seek in negotiations.
The exchange followed questions about Stephen Miller and what policy changes he had made. Trump praised Miller, saying he had been with him from the beginning and could work with the opposition. “He's smart, he's tough, he's fair, and he actually will get along, I think, very well with the Democrats.”
The prospect of cooperation with Democrats also surfaced in questions about a permitting bill that a reporter said was expected to face a vote that night. “The permitting bill is a great bill that's supposed to be bipartisan. We -- we are behind it 100 per cent,” Trump said.
He was less definite when asked whether he would press House members to support it. Trump said Democrats wanted the measure as much as Republicans, while allowing that their position might have changed.
His support came with an objection. Asked whether he would approve wind turbines, which a reporter described as a key part of the bill, Trump replied: “No, I will not approve wind turbines.”
When pressed on the apparent conflict, he said the bill had not been fully negotiated. He did not explain how his opposition would be accommodated in the legislation.
Trump also defended Pete Hegseth against criticism, crediting him with military successes in Venezuela and Iran. He described the Venezuela operation as lasting 48 minutes and claimed nobody had been killed.
On Iran, Trump said he believed the war had been won. He asserted Iran’s navy and air force had been destroyed and that Tehran wanted a deal. The supplied transcript contains no independent evidence supporting those assessments.
Trump linked the Iran campaign to preventing the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon. He acknowledged that public concern about energy costs could carry a short-term political cost and promised prices would come down.
Turning to Cuba, he described the country as failing and said the United States was providing humanitarian help. Asked about his earlier remarks on taking Cuba, he gave no specific commitment or operational details.
Immigration has long divided US politics. Disputes have centred on border enforcement, asylum, legal entry and the status of people living in the country without authorisation. Broad changes to immigration law require action by Congress, making negotiations between the White House and lawmakers important to any legislative agreement. Federal permitting governs approvals for many energy and infrastructure projects. Efforts to change that process have involved competing priorities, including faster construction, environmental safeguards and the treatment of different energy sources. Wind power has been one of the technologies at the centre of the wider US debate over energy policy.
Washington
Facedwith an influx of petitions by people alleging they're being unlawfully detained by federal immigration authorities, the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington said Monday that it no longer has the manpower to defend every case and will let judges rule without government opposition.
Acting US Attorney Charles Floyd said in a letter to US District Judge David Estudillo that habeas corpus cases initiate “protracted litigation” with numerous hearings, briefings and motions that consume prosecutors' resources.
“Thus, going forward, in order to conserve resources, there will be many habeas cases in which the USAO will no longer assume responsibility for providing a defense on behalf of the respondents," Floyd wrote.
The backlog has “severely impacted the government's ability to respond” to immigration petitions and prevented prosecutors from dealing with other unrelated civil litigation, he said. As a result, his office will decline to defend “many” habeas cases. He didn't specify how many cases could be affected.
Judges have often ruled against the administration in cases filed by tens of thousands of detainees arguing that they were being held illegally by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It has been a source of great frustration to administration officials — and to judges and advocates who say ICE has trampled on individual rights amid the Trump administration's hardline immigration agenda. Last week, US border czar Tom Homan told Fox News that courts have been weighed down by about 85,000 immigration habeas cases as the government carries out a sweeping crackdown.
Floyd is a former judge who, along with three other Washington judges, advocated for prohibiting immigration courts from granting bond to detainees — a question that is now before the US Supreme Court.
The justices will consider whether immigrants who have been living in the US have a right to a hearing to determine if they should remain detained while challenging their possible deportation.
Most appeals courts to have considered the issue have found that it violates federal law to detain immigrants, including those living in the US illegally, without a bond hearing. Those decisions conflict with rulings by the 5th and 8th circuits, which held that immigrants accused of illegally entering and remaining in the US must be detained while their deportation cases are pending.