By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday any Department of Homeland Security funding deal should not be made until Democrats in Congress approve a bill that requires people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
Trump said he does not “think any deal should be made on this until they approve Save America,” a NewsNation reporter posted on X on Sunday, quoting Trump’s remarks from an interview.
The bill requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration is called the Save America Act. It currently lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome Democratic opposition in the 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats.
Trump also said he was prepared to deploy agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS, at airports “for as long as it takes,” according to NewsNation. Trump this weekend said he would put ICE agents in airports until Democratic lawmakers agree to fund DHS.
“Now that I did this, the Democrats want to make a deal. And I don’t think any deal should be made on this until they approve SAVE America,” Trump was quoted as saying.
Proponents of the bill have argued it would help deter voter fraud. Republicans have echoed Trump’s false claim that large numbers of people who are in the country illegally vote in U.S. elections.
Democrats and other critics of the bill have argued that it could disenfranchise Americans who lack ready access to passports, birth certificates and other forms of identification.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sergio Non and Stephen Coates)
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