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Rep. Mia Love has ‘substantive and productive’ meeting with Pres. Trump

Posted at 2:31 PM, Jan 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-16 16:41:10-05

WASHINGTON — Utah Congresswoman Mia Love said she met with President Trump Tuesday morning, just two days after deploring him on CNN’s “State of the Union” for his alleged comments decrying immigrants coming from African countries and Haiti.

“This morning’s meeting was substantive and productive,” Congresswoman Love said. “We discussed the importance and urgency of finding a solution for DACA recipients, on enhancing border security, and on implementing reforms to ensure our nation continues to attract the world’s top talent, regardless of race. I will work with both parties in Congress as well as with the White House to make sure that we reach an agreement.”

On Thursday, Trump asked lawmakers “Why do we want all these people from s—hole countries coming here?” during a meeting on immigration reform in the Oval Office, according to a source briefed on the meeting.

Love, whose parents immigrated to the United State from Haiti, released a statement that evening, saying “The President’s comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values. This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation.”

When asked if she characterized Trump’s purported question as racist, Love answered affirmatively.

“I think they were, yes. I think they were unfortunate. I don’t know if they were taken — I wasn’t in the room. I know the comments were made. I don’t know in which context they were made,” Love  said. “I’m looking forward to finding out what happened, but more importantly, I’m looking forward to fixing the problem.”

Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Trump was asked if he is a racist, which he denied.

Love said she is now counting on Congress to address and solve immigration issues in the United States.

“I believe Congress can solve the vast majority of the immigration issues the nation faces. There is already agreement on many important aspects. We need to fight against those who have a vested interest in keeping immigration a wedge issue. This has gone unaddressed for far too long. Let’s have a real conversation, so Congress can finish the important work we were elected to do,” the statement Love released Tuesday said.