By — Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-asks-why-u-s-would-want-to-admit-more-immigrants-from-shole-countries Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump asks why U.S. would want to admit more immigrants from ‘s***hole countries’ Politics Updated on Jan 11, 2018 6:09 PM EDT — Published on Jan 11, 2018 6:06 PM EDT Editor’s note: This post contains explicit language. WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary Oval Office exchange, President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why the U.S. should permit immigrants from “shithole countries” as he rejected a plan by a bipartisan group of senators that would have changed rules affecting entrants from Africa and Haiti, according to three people briefed on the conversation. The White House did not deny the comment. Trump made the remark in a meeting as Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was explaining the outlines of an agreement that six senators had reached to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation and bolster border security, the people said. Durbin explained that as part of that deal, a lottery for visas that has benefited people from African and other diverse nations would be ended. In exchange, Durbin said people would be allowed to stay in the U.S. who fled here after disasters hit their homes in places including El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti. Trump specifically questioned why the U.S. would want to admit more people from Haiti. He also mentioned Africa and asked why more people from “s***hole countries” should be allowed into the U.S., the sources said. The NewsHour also confirmed the comments with a senior Democratic aide briefed on the meeting. Asked about the remarks, White House spokesman Raj Shah defended the president but did not directly deny his remarks. “Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” Shad said. MORE: Every moment in Trump’s charged relationship with race Trump’s supporters dismiss s***hole comments, charges of racism How Trump’s reported slur could affect immigration politics Haiti wants clarification on Trump’s comments, says ambassador Haiti ‘deeply shocked and outraged’ by Trump’s vulgar remark How African countries are reacting to Trump’s vulgar comments Trump denies he used profane language to describe Haiti, African countries Trump asks why U.S. would want to admit more immigrants from ‘s***hole countries’ How the world is reacting to Trump’s use of s***hole By — Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Alan Fram and Andrew Taylor, Associated Press
Editor’s note: This post contains explicit language. WASHINGTON — In an extraordinary Oval Office exchange, President Donald Trump questioned Thursday why the U.S. should permit immigrants from “shithole countries” as he rejected a plan by a bipartisan group of senators that would have changed rules affecting entrants from Africa and Haiti, according to three people briefed on the conversation. The White House did not deny the comment. Trump made the remark in a meeting as Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was explaining the outlines of an agreement that six senators had reached to protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation and bolster border security, the people said. Durbin explained that as part of that deal, a lottery for visas that has benefited people from African and other diverse nations would be ended. In exchange, Durbin said people would be allowed to stay in the U.S. who fled here after disasters hit their homes in places including El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti. Trump specifically questioned why the U.S. would want to admit more people from Haiti. He also mentioned Africa and asked why more people from “s***hole countries” should be allowed into the U.S., the sources said. The NewsHour also confirmed the comments with a senior Democratic aide briefed on the meeting. Asked about the remarks, White House spokesman Raj Shah defended the president but did not directly deny his remarks. “Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” Shad said. MORE: Every moment in Trump’s charged relationship with race Trump’s supporters dismiss s***hole comments, charges of racism How Trump’s reported slur could affect immigration politics Haiti wants clarification on Trump’s comments, says ambassador Haiti ‘deeply shocked and outraged’ by Trump’s vulgar remark How African countries are reacting to Trump’s vulgar comments Trump denies he used profane language to describe Haiti, African countries Trump asks why U.S. would want to admit more immigrants from ‘s***hole countries’ How the world is reacting to Trump’s use of s***hole