Politics and views in the United States

Senate GOP holdouts reach a deal on Todd Blanche's nomination. White House officials say immigration reform is impossible because of politicization and migrant advocates sue Homeland Security over DACA delays.

Transcript

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Blanche's so-called deal does nothing, nothing, to stop the IRS sweetheart deal that lets Trump and his family cheat their way out of tens of millions of dollars in taxes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is joining those doubting that a deal Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche reached with two holdout Senate Republicans is binding.

To advance a confirmation vote towards becoming the nation's chief prosecutor, Blanche affirmed an anti-weaponization fund won't go forward and says there will be limits to IRS protections for President Donald Trump and his family.

Democrats and anti-corruption advocates call his assurances meaningless and say in office Blanche would carry out attacks on Trump's political enemies.

Despite Blanche's assurance about the nearly $2 billion to be given to people who claim they were unfairly prosecuted, Trump still favors it.

I view that fund as a positive, and a lot of Republicans do too, not so many Democrats.

And it's not only for that, it's for other things too.

People that have been treated unfairly, that have been weaponized by a corrupt government.

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins' tough re-election bid is under pressure from the Blanche nomination.

Brett Edkins with the nonprofit Stand Up America says Blanche slowed the investigation into the fatal ice shooting of a young father in Maine last month.

I'm not sure what more Susan Collins needs to see to understand that Todd Blanche has one client.

It's Donald Trump and his administration and his ICE forces, not the American people.

The State Department is making permanent a requirement that visitors from 50 countries will have to put up large bonds to get visas.

The White House says each visitor will have to post $20,000 in order to curb visa overstays, but advocates argue it will deter legitimate travel.

DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen says the controversy is another sign of partisanship, making immigration reform impossible.

When it becomes political and becomes a red issue, a blue issue, it means it's dead.

If this was easy to fix, it would have got fixed.

If any side was wanting to compromise in it, the Biden administration could have done it in the first two years they were in office when they had full control of Washington, D.C.

Mullen's agency is being sued for the slow pace of renewal in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The Texas and Nebraska centers where applicants from multiple states are processed report delays of 190 days.

Rebecca Shee with the American Business Immigration Coalition says that's costing employees their work permits and leaving employers with vacant jobs.

When you remove people that are productive and so motivated, you're not just harming these professionals, you're harming the American economy and also American citizens that depend on their hard work.

The administration argues the slower pace mandated by a 2025 Trump executive order is needed for increased vetting.

Legal aid groups say it is more likely part of a larger mass deportation plan.

House Republican Max Miller of Ohio says he will not end his re-election campaign despite serious charges of domestic violence made by his ex-wife, the daughter of Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.

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