Nancy Pelosi called Donald Trump Friday night asking to call off ICE raids
By Jake Tapper, Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent 10 hrs ago
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called President Donald Trump Friday night and asked him to call off the Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation raids scheduled for Sunday, a source familiar with the call told CNN.
Trump pulled back on the raids Saturday a matter of hours after he spoke in support of the coordinated arrests and deportations that were slated to hit 10 major cities. Trump announced via Twitter that he would delay for two weeks US raids to give Congress a chance to "get together and work out a solution" on the enforcement of his signature immigration policy.
Trump and Pelosi spoke at 7:20 p.m. ET Friday night for about 12 minutes, according to the source. White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere confirmed a phone call took place Friday night between Trump and Pelosi.
A senior Democratic aide said Trump is "trying to create leverage in a situation where he has none," adding that "it won't work."
"Democrats aren't going to compromise their values," the aide said. "He's walked away from several deals on immigration. We have no illusions here."
Pelosi on Saturday pushed for Trump to halt the actions that would impact at least 2,000 migrant families. She called the planned raids "heartless" and a "brutal action which will tear families apart and inject terror into our communities."
"These families are hard-working members of our communities and our country. The President's action makes no distinction between a status violation and committing a serious crime," Pelosi said in a statement.
Earlier Saturday, Trump defended the raids via Twitter, arguing that the targeted families have been dodging the law.
"The people that Ice will apprehend have already been ordered to be deported," Trump tweeted. "This means that they have run from the law and run from the courts. These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country. They broke the law by coming into the country, & now by staying."
Trump later characterized his delay of the raids as a concession to Democrats in pursuit of a bipartisan immigration agreement.
"At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border,'" Trump tweeted. "If not, Deportations start!"
Following Trump's delay, Pelosi tweeted her approval. "Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together."