President Trump seeks delay of immigration bill until after midterms

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Friday signaled that he is seeking delay on immigration legislation until after November midterm elections.

"Republicans should stop wasting their time on Immigration until after we elect more Senators and Congressmen/women in November," Trump tweeted on Friday.

"Even if we get 100% Republican votes in the Senate, we need 10 Democrat votes to get a much needed Immigration Bill - & the Dems are Obstructionists who won't give votes for political reasons & because they don't care about Crime coming from Border! So we need to elect more R's!" the president said on Twitter.

However, the delay call is thought in contradiction with another tweet by the president earlier this week, which said: "Now is the best opportunity ever for Congress to change the ridiculous and obsolete laws on immigration."

Trump's shift came one day after Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives twice delayed a vote on a "moderate" or "compromise" immigration bill amid chaos over the White House practice of separating families who illegally cross the US border.

Following the failure of a voting on a "hardline" immigration bill with 193 votes in favor and 231 against earlier on Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan told the lawmakers that the second voting for a "moderate" bill on immigration would be postponed until Friday.

Hours later, after a two-hour behind-door meeting of House Republicans, Ryan said Thursday evening that the voting will not happen until next week, in the hope that Republicans, given more time, can modify the bill again so as to secure 218 votes to pass the legislation.

Under the so-called "moderate" or "compromise" bill, the Donald Trump government will stop the forced migrant family separation, get 25 billion dollars to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, and allow up to 1.8 million Dreamers, the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program, to apply for US citizenship.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told NBC News that the House will still vote on the compromise immigration bill next week, despite Trump's tweets.