Trump threatens to kill Daca deal, Nafta if Mexico doesn’t 'mend ways'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday, April 1, thundered yet again over his strong border plan rubbishing the chances of arriving at deals to legalise the status of Dreamers - the young adult immigrants - besides saying the USA's border with its southern neighbour Mexico was becoming all the more dangerous.

Trump got into his aggressive mood after tweeting a "Happy Easter" message on Sunday and blasted the Democrats for making "laws like Catch & Release" which he said was hampering the border patrol officials from doing their job properly.

In another tweet, Trump lashed out at Mexico saying it was doing nothing to stop immigration into the US and laughed at Washington's "dumb immigration laws". He said Mexico must stop the "big drug and people flows" or he would kill the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) which is being renegotiated with Mexico and northern neighbour Canada.

No Daca deal, thunders Trump

Trump even went to the extreme of asking the Republicans to "go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW" and threatened that there would be no Daca (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) deal, a soft US immigration policy that allows individuals who entered the country as minors and without legal permission -- to receive a two-year period of deferred action from deportation and be eligible to get a work permit. The Daca programme was put in place in 2012 during the term of Barack Obama which Trump is eyeing to kill.

He also made a deal out of the Daca programme saying he was open to an agreement with the pro-Daca congressional Democrats in exchange of building his much emphasised border wall with Mexico, something he has been backing since campaigning for the presidency. He said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall - a claim which the latter has repeatedly trashed.

Counter effect to Trump's hardline stand is being seen in Mexico now

The counter effect of Trump's hard stance on Mexico has also started getting reflected on the Mexican side of the border. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is running for Mexican presidency, launched his campaign near the border on the same day seeking respect for Mexicans and hinting at taking a strong stand on Trump if he wins the election scheduled on July 1. Obrador, who is representing the 'Together We Will Make History' coalition, is being considered favourite to win this year's election and if that happens, the relation between the US and Mexico is expected to deteriorate further. Obrador believes that neither walls nor force could find solution for social problems.

Trump had his moment of frustration last month when he had to sign a federal spending bill which neither address the Dreamers' issue nor fully fund the border wall with Mexico. He threatened to veto the bill but signed it eventually.

Experts said the US president was particularly vocal over cancelling the Daca deal after learning about news of young people crossing Mexico into the US.

OneIndia News