U.S. lawmakers reject Trump-backed immigration bill

U.S. lawmakers in the lower house resoundingly defeated an immigration reform bill on Wednesday with the so-called moderate legislation coming from the Republican leadership and supported by President Donald Trump.

The vote in the House of Representatives ended with 301 against and only 121 with a substantial number of Trump’s Republican Party failing to fall into line.

The development has been described as a blow to the president.

In the morning, Mr Trump had taken to Twitter to call on his party to vote for the “STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL’’ in a lengthy message posted in all capital letters.

Recently, a hard line bill by Republicans was also defeated, as was an attempt to pass a law in the Senate, the upper chamber.

There will likely be one more attempt to pass legislation to keep migrant families together at the southern border, though the summer recess is fast approaching.

Mr Trump ran for office on a platform that included tough anti-immigration language and has in office taken a hardline position on migration from several Muslim-majority countries and also from Central America.

The president has been forced to reverse some of his more extreme policies, including one that separated children from their parents at the border with Mexico.

(Dpa/NAN)