House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called President Trump on Friday night and asked him to delay the planned deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants scheduled for Sunday, it has been reported.
The president on Saturday announced that he would delay the Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation raids by two weeks during which he and the Democrats will try to hammer out a negotiated agreement on the contentious issue of undocumented migrants.
A source familiar with the matter told CNN on Saturday that Trump and Pelosi spoke by telephone in a conversation that lasted 12 minutes.
Pelosi publicly urged Trump to hold off on the planned raids, which she called ‘heartless.’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) reportedly called President Trump (right) on Friday night and pressed him to hold off on the planned deportation raids scheduled for Sunday
The president on Saturday announced that the raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement across 10 major cities would be delayed by two weeks
In response to Trump's announcement, Pelosi tweeted: 'Mr. President, delay is welcome'
‘It is my hope that before Sunday, leaders of the faith-based community and other organizations that respect the dignity and worth of people will call upon the President to stop this brutal action which will tear families apart and inject terror into our communities,’ the California Democrat said in a statement on Saturday.
‘Families belong together. These families are hard-working members of our communities and our country.
‘The president’s action makes no distinction between a status violation and committing a serious crime.
‘It is important that the President and our immigrant communities know that they have rights in America.’
After Trump announced the delay on Saturday, Pelosi tweeted: ‘Mr. President, delay is welcome.
‘Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform.
‘Families belong together.’
Trump has said that the planned enforcement actions by ICE are aimed at removing thousands of illegal immigrants who have court orders for deportation.
Pelosi publicly urged Trump to hold off on the planned raids, which she called ‘heartless’
'At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!' Trump said in a tweet on Saturday afternoon.
Enforcement raids had been scheduled to begin at dawn on Sunday in at least 10 major cities, drawing furious protests from local Democrat officials who vowed to fight the deportations.
Trump had been adamant that the raids would go forward as recently as Saturday morning, and his stunning reversal on the ICE raids comes amid a tumultuous week in which it was revealed that he pulled back on a planned strike against Iran at the last minute after learning the casualty projections.
In announcing the delay, Trump gave Congress an ultimatum to fix 'loopholes' in the asylum process, likely referring to the patchwork of legal restrictions which allow many Central Americans to cross the border illegally and quickly walk free if they arrive with a child.
Just hours earlier, Trump had been adamant that the enforcement action would move forward - even insisting that it would have a deterrent effect that would help the situation at the border, where illegal crossings have skyrocketed.
'These are people that came into the country illegally - they've been served and gone through a process of the courts. They have to be removed from the country, and they will be removed from the country,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday morning while departing for Camp David.
'Everybody that came into the country illegally will be brought out of the country, very legally,' he continued.
'Some cities are going to fight it, but if you notice they're generally high crime cities. If you look at Chicago... many of those cities are sanctuary
