Emanuel gives letter to Trump asking him to protect immigrants

FOX 32 NEWS - Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with Donald Trump in New York Wednesday.

The mayor said they discussed education, transportation and, most of all, immigration.

Emanuel said he gave the president-elect a letter signed by 14 mayors. They asked Trump not to deport immigrants brought into the U.S> illegally as children. Advocates dub them "dreamers."

“We are clear as mayors that these are dreamers who are seeking the American dream. And we should embrace them, rather than do a bait-and-switch,” said Emanuel.

Emanuel said he and Trump talked for 45 minutes, mostly one-on-one. He said the president-elect asked for lessons the mayor had learned as President Obama’s first chief of staff. The mayor then met separately for about 20 minutes with Trump's soon-to-be chief of staff Reince Priebus and senior advisor Steve Bannon.

Bannon was an anti-illegal-immigration hawk when he ran Breitbart.com, a website that often mocks Chicago and other so-called sanctuary cities for not cooperating with immigration enforcement.

“I also spoke out strongly about what it means to be a sanctuary city, where we support and secure the people that are here. Like my grandfather who came to the city of Chicago as a 13-year old 100 years ago. Chicago was a sanctuary city for my grandfather,” Emanuel said.

Emanuel’s brother, Ari, is a Hollywood talent agent who once represented Trump and recently had his own meeting with the president-elect. Shortly after that, Trump telephoned the mayor.

Emanuel said he touted improved test scores at Chicago’s Public Schools and city colleges, and urged that Chicago get a fair share of new federal construction dollars, especially for transportation.

“If it runs on roads, rails or runways, that investment creates an economic engine for the city,” Emanuel said.

The mayor studiously avoided quoting anything that Trump or his top two advisors during this first post-election meeting.  Doing that, Emanuel has said, would guarantee there won't be another meeting.