In this video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines claims made by both sides about President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the border.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has filed suit to block Trump’s national emergency from taking effect, was asked on PBS’ “NewsHour” how his past support for then-President Barack Obama’s executive actions on illegal immigration in 2014 squared with his current lawsuit that claims Trump’s action on illegal immigration is unconstitutional.
Becerra claimed Obama “didn’t change laws” or “try to dismiss laws” when using his executive authority to create programs known as the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. But the federal courts ruled that Obama did try to change the law. In 2015, a federal judge blocked the DAPA program from taking effect, calling the new program “in effect, a new law.” Obama himself once boasted that he “took action to change the law” when creating DAPA.
As for the Republican spin, White House adviser Stephen Miller claimed the illegal immigration population under President George W. Bush doubled from 6 million to 12 million by the time Bush left office. Actually, it went up by 28 percent, according to Department of Homeland Security estimates.
For more on both claims, please see our item “Spinning Trump’s National Emergency Declaration.”
This video is part of our collaboration with CNN’s “State of the Union with Jake Tapper.” Past videos can be found on FactCheck.org.
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