In recent months, Congressional Democrats took steps toward impeachment proceedings, and in response to allegations Trump referred to Haiti and other African counties as “shithole” nations, are preparing a formal censure resolution. Trump has denied making the comment.
“The President’s bigoted fearmongering is not acceptable and his remarks completely warrant total condemnation and censure from Congress. American immigration policy cannot and should not be guided in any way, shape or form by racism,” reads a joint statement from Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler.
However, the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University states a censure resolution of the President has no legal effect and is not grounded in the rules of either the House or Senate, nor the Constitution. Congressman Al Green, who has led the charge to impeach Trump, took to social media to voice his frustration with the President.
“Congressional condemnation of racist bigotry is not enough. In Congress, talk is cheap-it’s how we vote that counts. Next week, I will again bring a resolution to impeach @realDonaldTrump. I will put my vote where my mouth is,” he posted on Twitter.
Trump allegedly made the crass comments during a January 11 meeting with members of Congress. Green previously cited the president’s “hatred and hostility among the American people based on race, national origin, religion, gender and sexual orientation” as justification for impeachment in a Dec. 5 letter to Congressional colleagues.
According to Green, the President is guilty of “high misdemeanors” that do not necessarily need to be criminal in order for him to be removed from office. In this context, he contends, a misdemeanor is synonymous with a “misdeed” and cited President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment proceedings as evidence impeachment is, in fact, not a judicial remedy, but a political one.
The impeachment resolution brought late last year received 57 votes to proceed, according to Green. Trump’s immigration policy has also come under fire as a California judge blocked his administration’s efforts end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Known as DACA, the program was designed to protect young, undocumented children from deportation. Others have criticized Trump's decision to end the Temporary Protected Status of 200,000 El Salvadorians who were allowed to stay in America due to hardships in their home county.
“Who gains when we take away lawful status from hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have lived here, paid taxes, and registered with the government for nearly 20 years?” said Royce Bernstein Murray, Policy Director of the American Immigration Council. “TPS holders have provided their personal information, undergone background checks, and in 18 months will lose their ability to work lawfully and support their families. Since the administration won’t protect them, Congress must seize this moment to provide a legislative fix.”
The Trump administration also recently ended TPS for those from Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, according to information from the American Immigration Council.