WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants immigrants to come to the United States “from everywhere,” according to participants at a White House meeting — a remark in stark contrast with his alleged denunciation of immigration from “shithole countries” last week.
“We want them to come in from everywhere,” the president said when asked about immigration policy during an Oval Office meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
But the controversy over Trump’s reported slur on January 11 raged on in Washington, as Republicans and Democrats attempt to reach a compromise on the fate of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
Brought to the US illegally as children and granted temporary status under former president Barack Obama, Trump ended the program for so-called “Dreamers” in September.
Since the controversy erupted, Trump has not explicitly denied referring to African countries and Haiti as “shitholes,” but has said, without offering details, that he did not use the language attributed to him.
On Twitter, Trump hit out at Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, who was present at last week’s meeting and insisted the president used the slur repeatedly.
“Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals can’t get made when there is no trust!” he wrote Monday evening.
“We need a merit based system of immigration, and we need it now!” he added Tuesday.
Trump: we want immigrants ‘from everywhere’ to come to US
Trump: we want immigrants ‘from everywhere’ to come to US
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
