Lawmakers Take Offense to WH CoS Comments on “Dreamers”

Members of Congress are condemning comments made on Tuesday by WH Chief of Staff John Kelly, who suggested that some “Dreamers” were either “too lazy to get off their asses” or “too afraid” to sign up for the DACA program that protects them from deportation. Kelly made the remarks to reporters while defending Donald Trump’s proposal to provide a path the citizenship for many more recipients than those currently enrolled in the DACA program. The comments drew rebuke from his own party, with Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) calling the remarks insensitive. "These are young people who at the time, a lot of people told them, 'you're signing your deportation orders.' ... So I understand why many of them decided not to come forward, especially given what we see playing out now," Curbelo said. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Congresswoman Michelle Luján Grisham (D-NM) said the comments were “highly offensive” but that she wasn’t surprised by them, reports CNN. “This is the Kelly I know, a guy who is incredibly consistent. And to be again punitive by using that term 'lazy' and creating yet another discriminatory, divisive statement about minorities, I find incredibly offensive and part of the status quo with this administration." More here.