President Barack Obama has backed off a request for Congress to give his administration more latitude to deport illegal immigrant children coming to the U.S. from Central America, two high-profile Republican members of Congress said today. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul claimed this morning that the president did not include a formal request for Congress to change the existing law after telling them in a letter last week he supported revisions because his party successfully pressured him not to. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi did not indicate that her caucus had asked the president to backtrack but made clear today in her weekly briefing with reporters that she was not in favor of amending the law to allow the Department of Homeland Security to immediately send children from non-contiguous countries back home.
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Obama sent a letter to Congress asking them to change a law barring the government from automatically deporting Central American children
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Obama said he'd like Congress to give the Department of Homeland Security more discretion in applying the law
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He also informed Congress that he'd be asking for additional money for agencies that handle illegal immigration
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When he submitted his formal proposal this week he did not include legislative language to change current law, only a request for funds
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Republicans say its because his party talked him out of it
retracted that policy and now is throwing it on the @placeholder to resolve