DACA negotiations reach critical week

DACA negotiations reach critical week
12:46 PM EST December 18, 2017
Washington
As lawmakers reach the final week to decide year-end government funding, negotiations on saving the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program are reaching a fever pitch despite long odds.
Chances remain slim that lawmakers will reach agreement before the end of the year on what to do about DACA, which President Donald Trump has decided to end. Still, talks in both chambers are continuing in the hopes that a last-minute option could be reached or there will be an opportunity early next year, according to sources close to the discussions.
The House and Senate are still divided on what it will do next to fund the government beyond Friday's deadline. It's believed that a deal can be reached in the Senate to punt some issues, including DACA, until January, but unclear if Republicans will have the votes in the House.
And if leadership in the House needs a substantial amount of Democratic votes, DACA could very likely be a requirement in a deal.
That's driving some negotiators to put something out this week, just in case leadership needs a last-minute fix.
The greatest hope for advocates who want to see a version of the program, which protects young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, put into law is the Senate talks.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, has been leading a bipartisan working group with North Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. The pair hosted the group in Durbin's office for multiple meetings last week, including a Thursday gathering before lawmakers left town that included Republicans James Lankford, Cory Gardner, Jeff Flake and staff from Sen. Thom Tillis and Democrat Michael Bennet.
After the meeting, Durbin said a deal was "starting to take form" but work remained. Tillis earlier that day estimated the group was "maybe a third of the way there," saying what a DACA piece should look like was mostly done, but still unresolved is what border security and reform to "chain migration," or family-based migration, which the President has repeatedly demanded, will be included.
Tillis and Lankford both said January was a more likely time for a resolution than December.
On the House side, moderate Republicans are working with Democratic colleagues to try to put together some compromise options, with Florida Rep. Carlos Curbelo pushing especially hard to get something public quickly.
Curbelo is working on both an effort among the bipartisan centrist Problem Solvers Caucus. In a separate effort, Texas Republican Rep. Will Hurd, has pledged to join Democrats in not supporting government funding that doesn't include DACA.
"At the very least, those of us who have been calling for this compromise and demanding that it get done by the end of the year should have something to show," Curbelo said last week.
Possible bipartisan options to pair with DACA include border security investments, adjusting the diversity lottery and a version of Kate's Law, which increases penalties on undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes, Curbelo said.
According to a House Republican aide, the Problem Solvers and the other member-driven effort are both working with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on shaping a deal. The Problem Solvers would have a version of the Dream Act and Curbelo's Recognizing America's Children Act, which offer pathways to citizenship, paired with border security and some visa changes. The other proposal is focused more on an adjusted Dream Act with a border security investment that is not Trump's proposed border wall.
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http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/18/politi...nue/index.html

This is our chance, its coming!

you feel it coming?

This is reporting issues, not with Dream Act, but with the other immigration reforms. I cannot believe that they waited until the day before going home to meet about this. We do not need shows, logos, or only words. We need solutions, action now.

I hate politics.

Seriously. And I thought I was a procrastinator. Jesus Christ. I just wanna worry about normal shit, not about if these idiots are going to give me a chance to keep living my life.

Look at this idiot

.@michellemalkin on visa programs: "They think that it is more important to have a DACA fix to protect 700,000 illegal aliens, rather than get rid of these stupid programs that are endangering American lives."

Why does everyone assume it is a zero sum game? You can have both!

The House and Senate are still divided on what it will do next to fund the government beyond Friday's deadline. It's believed that a deal can be reached in the Senate to punt some issues, including DACA, until January, but unclear if Republicans will have the votes in the House.
And if leadership in the House needs a substantial amount of Democratic votes, DACA could very likely be a requirement in a deal.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was in Chicago today campaigning for Congress to pass his DACA bill to protect the undocumented immigrants brought here as kids from being deported. He spoke to a group of DACA students at Jurarez High School.

DACA studnet Katherine: “You should support immigration reform, not because I’m educated, but because I’m a human and we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

Durbin stood with Katherine, a DACA student to plead with the Republican majority to do what he says is the right thing, “It is a long-shot, but we know we have to do it. We have a March 5th deadline looming and we know with Katherine’s story that there are many people watching to see if we can get this done.”

Even though he says it’s a long-shot, Durbin hopes to get his DACA bill passed as a bargaining chip in a bill on budget caps.

@ 2017 WLS-AM News

http://www.wlsam.com/2017/12/18/durb...his-daca-bill/

We're done.