Congress heads toward showdown over 'Dreamers'

Congress is barreling toward a showdown over immigration in January.

Lawmakers were locked in a flurry of closed-door negotiations and meetings with top White House officials as they tried to make progress on an agreement before wrapping up their work for the year.

Instead, both chambers adjourned without a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, kicking the fight into 2018. The program allows certain immigrants, called dreamers, who came to the United States illegally as children, to work and go to school here.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are expected to meet with top White House officials on Wednesday to discuss a myriad of looming policy fights, including DACA.
The sit-down comes as President Trump, a wild card in the immigration battle, is doubling down on his demand for funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

“The Democrats have been told, and fully understand, that there can be no DACA without the desperately needed WALL at the Southern Border and an END to the horrible Chain Migration & ridiculous Lottery System of Immigration etc. We must protect our Country at all cost!” he said in a tweet.

The requirement would complicate any effort to get a deal because proposed funding is unlikely to get the 60 votes needed in the Senate.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) noted on Friday that Congress could pass a legislative fix for DACA that “beefs up border security, stops chain migration for the DREAMers, and addresses the unfairness of the diversity lottery.”

“If POTUS wants to protect these kids, we want to help him keep that promise,” he added.

Conservatives have honed in on cracking down on “chain migration” by limiting which family members U.S. citizens and permanent residents can try to sponsor for a green card.

Negotiators are hoping they will have a deal by next month, though wide gaps remain between what GOP lawmakers, the White House and Democrats will accept as part of any agreement.

“My preference obviously would be to do it earlier in January and attach it to the must pass omnibus bill. That’s just me. ... We just need more time [and] we’ll run out of runway if we try to do it the end of February,” Flake told reporters before the holiday recess.

Supporters of a DACA fix believe that the spending and budget negotiations give them the most leverage because GOP leadership will need support from Democrats to keep the government open and prevent automatic across-the-board budget cuts.

“Come January we are focused on the caps, the omnibus and the opportunity they present,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told The Hill.

Senate GOP leadership has pledged that if lawmakers can strike a deal in January they will bring the legislation up for a vote.

“There is a commitment to bring up a bill on the floor in January, but a bill does not currently exist so we have a lot of work we need to do,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), asked if a commitment had been made to Flake.

McConnell has also downplayed that Democrats will be able to use an upcoming slate of fiscal deadlines to gain an advantage in the immigration fight.

“There isn't that much of an emergency there. The president's given us until March,” he said.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in September that the administration would end the Obama-era program, which allows undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children to work and go to school.

The decision teed up a mid-March deadline for Congress to pass legislation. If they fail to reach a deal, hundreds of thousands of immigrants will be at risk of being deported.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus didn’t specifically call out Democratic leadership but noted that they will “leverage every single opportunity to keep all Congressional leaders committed to the goal of permanently protecting Dreamers by mid-January.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3...-over-dreamers

Not this again. Hopefully the democrats don’t chicken out this time

Why are we going in circles again. I thought this didnt happen in dec bcoz the people in charge never agreed to bring it to the floor and wanted this issue to be tackled separetely. Then what changes now? Reps dont want it to be attached to spending so y waste time and create own timelines giving us false hopes....

Isn’t this just a summery of what had happened so far? There’s no new information in the article. I think we will know more after Wednesday’s meeting.

That political posturing summary is full if political bullshit, misinformation, and lies.

1. There is a Dream Act bill. Cornyn is a liar.

2. The Democrats have had (past tense) our support because they promised to attach Dream Act to the spending bills. They did not, but they can and have the power to attach Dream Act to the next one, thus guaranteeing its passage.

3. Putting a bill on the floor on its own merits has been repeatedly threatened to be blocked by Republicans. To date, Democrats have not actually, except for the half-ass effort in 2010, filed to bring it to a vote. Now, putting it to a vote does not guarantees its passage because Republican and Democratic leadership say one thing, then turn around and do another. Then they hide and pretend never promised or said such things. Note how Durbin, Pelosi, Schumer never explained backing out of their promise.

Democrats in completely safe states, not up for re-election this year voted not to demand a solution to the immigrant plight.

How about Democratic leadership start defending immigrants?

This isn’t new information. I feel like i read this article last month.

Because we're making a fourth lap of this issue:

September deadline - extended to Dec 8th.
Dec 8th deadline - extended to Dec 22nd.
Dec 22nd deadline - extended to January 19th.
Jan 19th deadline - fuck knows, shit hasn't changed one bit.

Thing are just flying in a fucking circle. The debt ceiling can be filibustered but politics is really a game of pretending you can do something and then doing it. They could pass two week CRs until a regime change for all they care about.

I really hope that the shutdown happens, out of principle at this point solely so Trump can't fucking golf.

Yeah, what the hell was that about? Is he too stupid to know we’re well aware of all the bills that exist?

There will not be a shut down. The weak, pathetic and spineless Democrat leader will cave once again to Republicans.

dont give up folks, we will fight to every last Dreamer in America.

we may lose some on the way (expirations/deportations) but we will prevail.

2018 will be a big year for us.