WASHINGTON – Holding firm to his immigration order, President Donald Trump on Monday denied it was to blame for chaos at the nation’s airports over the weekend, instead pointing to computer glitches, protesters and even the “tears of Senator Schumer.”
Later he shifted the focus away from the weekend’s immigration turmoil, signing an executive action aimed at cutting regulations for small businesses. White House officials called the directive a “one in, two out” plan, requiring government agencies requesting a new regulation to identify two others they will cut.
Trump signed the order in the Oval Office surrounded by small-business leaders, saying it would “massively” cut regulations and calling it the “biggest such act that our country has ever seen.”
Trump’s business announcement came as protests continued around the country over his immigration order. Early Monday, he took to Twitter to defend the move, saying that only 109 out of 325,000 people “were detained and held for questioning.” Trump also said swift action was important, noting that there are a “lot of bad ‘dudes’ out there.”
Trump’s order temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days.
Democratic New York Sen. Schumer choked up over the weekend while talking about the repercussions from the ban, but that brought scorn from Trump.
“I noticed Chuck Schumer yesterday with fake tears. I’m going to ask him who was his acting coach, because I know him very well. I don’t see him as a crier,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
Top Trump aides compared the order with a 2011 policy on Iraqi refugees, when President Barack Obama imposed additional checks on Iraqi refugees after two Iraqis were charged with terrorism offenses in Kentucky. Unlike Trump’s order, the Obama policy applied only to Iraqi refugees and never specifically prohibited entry.
A federal judge in New York has issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from the seven nations. The order bars U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrives in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It also covers anyone with an approved refugee application.
The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday the court ruling would not affect overall implementation of the White House order.
