With Trump trashing Democrats on immigration, Flake says, 'He ought to knock that off'

Sen. Jeff Flake defended his Democratic colleagues from President Donald Trump's withering attacks on immigration in recent days, warning that Trump is sabotaging any chance for immigration reform.

Flake, an Arizona Republican, also repeated his oft-expressed hope that a fellow Republican challenges Trump during the presidential primary election in 2020, "just to remind Republicans what it means to be conservative."

Flake, who is not seeking re-election this year, has teased the possibility of a presidential run since last year.

Flake's latest condemning of the nastiness of Republican politics in the era of Trump came during a Sunday morning appearance on ABC's "This Week" and as Trump was ripping the U.S. immigration system on Twitter as "a mockery" and calling on Democrats to "fix the laws" instead of resisting his agenda.

Flake noted that Republicans and Democrats have a history of bipartisanship on the issue. In 2013, Senate Democrats voted in favor of the Gang of Eight's immigration-reform legislation, which included a pathway to citizenship and an unprecedented $46.3 billion investment in border security. The legislation was not taken up by the House and it did not become law.

"They are on record supporting significant border control, so when the president says that and calls them clowns and losers, how does he expect the Democrats to sit down and work with Republicans on these issues?" Flake asked. "Words matter. What the president says matters, and he ought to knock that off."

On Saturday, Trump touted hard-line immigration policies to Nevada Republicans as a winning strategy for Republicans headed into the midterm elections. The president painted Democrats as "obstructionists" and told Nevada's Republicans, "Our issue is strong borders, no crime; their issue is open borders, let MS-13 all over our country."

Flake said that type of rhetoric threatens to stymie meaningful action on immigration reform, an issue already fraught with competing factions during the best of times. And it complicates Republicans' ability to stave off losses this cycle, he said.

"That's a tough case to make in Nevada. That's a tough case to make in Arizona," Flake said. "These are areas where we understand it's a complex issue, and just that kind of rhetoric of people being soft on the border, or soft on crime, that only goes so far.

"I hope that Republicans run on something different."

Amid the family-separation crisis, Flake was among the Republican senators who introduced legislation to keep children and parents together during legal proceedings.

The legislation guarantees, among other things, suitable living conditions, food and water, and medical assistance. He pointed out some of the cases can go on for a long time before resolution.

Flake predicted Trump's executive order reversing child separation at the border will be struck down, saying it runs afoul of the 1997 Reno vs. Flores settlement.

The agreement requires that migrants under 18 be released "without unnecessary delay" if they have a family member to stay with. Additionally, the settlement requires any minors who must remain in immigration detention be placed "in the least restrictive setting appropriate."

"I don't know how in the world we're going to fix this in the short term, given the Flores decision, and given the lack of infrastructure of judges to process these claims," Flake said. "It's really a big mess."

Congress, he said, "has to fix this."

Flake abandoned his re-election bid last year because he said, he did not want to compromise his integrity to try to win over pro-Trump voters in Arizona's Aug. 28 Republican primary.

Follow Yvonone Wingett Sanchez on Twitter @yvonnewingett 

WPXI