President Donald Trump won’t sign a bill that includes less bed space for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities for violent offenders, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., declared Sunday.
In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Graham, a close congressional ally of Trump, said he believed the demand had created an “impasse” in negotiations to fund border security and avert another partial government shutdown.
Democrats are “willing to give the president a little more money for the wall but in return they want to limit the number of bed spaces available to house violent criminals,” he said. “This goes back to [New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s] belief that ICE should be abolished.”
“So the bottom line is how can you get money for a wall and at the same time, limit bed spaces for violent offenders and say you've solved the immigration problem,” he continued. “You're actually incentivizing more illegal immigration by reducing the bed space and it undercuts any money you would get for a wall.”
Trump “can't sign that bill,” Graham said. “If that's the friction point, then we'll have a continuing resolution and we'll just keep talking.”