Trump postponed planned ICE raids on illegal immigrants after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi personally asked him to do so, The Hill reported Saturday.
According to the report, Pelosi called Trump and spoke with him for about 12 minutes, several hours before the postponement was announced. After the call, Trump postponed ICE raids in ten cities planned for this Sunday for two weeks to give lawmakers more time to come to an agreement regarding asylum policy and immigration issues.
"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. If not, Deportations start!" Trump tweeted on Friday.
Following the announcement, Speaker Pelosi thanked Trump on Twitter.
"Mr. President, delay is welcome. Time is needed for comprehensive immigration reform. Families belong together," she said, responding to Trump’s tweet.
On Saturday, House Democratic aides told CNN that they did not believe Trump would keep his word to cancel the raids if a deal was reached.
"Democrats aren't going to compromise their values," one aide said. "He's walked away from several deals on immigration. We have no illusions here."
The Sunday raids were planned to hit migrant communities in 10 major US cities, including Miami, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Chicago, according to The New York Times. In a tweet posted 17 June, Trump announced ICE agents would “begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States.”
Washington, seeking to limit the influx of immigrants coming illegally from Central American countries, signed a deal with Mexico City in which Mexico will crack down on immigrants on its own southern border.