Mexican native Hilario Yanez thanked President Donald Trump Monday for being “compassionate” and “taking leadership” on the issue of dealing with illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children — and ripped Democratic lawmakers who “failed to act” years ago. He spoke during an interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

Yanez, whose mother brought him illegally to the U.S. when he was an infant, said he supported Trump’s plan to offer amnesty for up to 1.8 million Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients in exchange for border wall funding and an end to the visa lottery and unchecked chain migration.

With a March deadline looming for a DACA fix, House and Senate leaders are struggling to reach an agreement, which spurred Yanez to blast Democrats for leadership failures and opposition to border security and enforcement.

“The president’s taking leadership on this issue, you know. He’s very compassionate on this issue. He understands it,” Yanez said. “He’s willing to work, you know, and to get something done.”

“As far as the Democrats, I’m a little confused as to what their message is. I’m a little confused as to what they believe in,” Yanez added, noting that the Democrats “failed to act” and deliver a permanent legislative fix for illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children when they controlled Congress.

Yanez said he “grew up on conservative values,” noting that Democrats don’t appeal to his set of values.

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“I grew up on, first of all, putting God in my life. Jesus Christ is my Savior. I grew up on family. I believe in prosperity. I believe in hope, working hard and standing on your own two feet,” Yanez said. “And so for me it’s more appealing to appeal to my values and something that aligns with those.”

Yanez said his stepfather abandoned him, his pregnant mother, and his little sister after they illegally entered this country. A stay in a homeless shelter in Houston, Texas, helped his mother to pull herself up and move on to cleaning houses.

“And really that was the beginning of God’s grace,” Yanez said. “I’m standing here today by the grace of God.”

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Yanez also professed his support for border wall funding and immigration enforcement measures, saying, “I think it’s necessary that we need border security. We need the security out there that’s acknowledging the infrastructure.”

The immigrant also accused Democrats of trying to politicize the DACA amnesty issue. “It’s not a Republican [issue], it’s not a Democrat issue, but it’s an American issue,” he said.

Trump ripped Democrats over the DACA issue in a tweet Saturday, saying, “Republicans want to fix DACA far more than the Democrats do. The Dems had all three branches of government back in 2008-2011, and they decided not to do anything about DACA. They only want to use it as a campaign issue. Vote Republican!”

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During a prior interview on “Fox & Friends” Saturday, Yanez said he was “quite frustrated” with Democrats because “Republicans are willing and ready to do something about” the DACA issue.

Related: Trump Puts Citizenship for 1.8 Million Illegals on DACA Table

“The Democratic leadership, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer have no clear message,” Yanez had said. “At the end of the day, I think they’ve been using us as pawns.”

“They never should have shut down the government over DACA. We should never have held our American people and our military hostage,” Yanez added. “There is plenty of time on the table to fix this.”

“Russia was not involved with this. It was a clear win. And I think CNN needs to move on from that and really focus on American issues.”

Yanez also urged Democrats to “move on” and face the reality that Trump won the presidency and the Republicans took control of Congress.

“I think the reason he won was he had a great message,” Yanez said. “Look, Russia was not involved with this. It was a clear win. And I think CNN needs to move on from that and really focus on American issues.”

PoliZette writer Kathryn Blackhurst can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter.