More than 90 days have passed since our terror of a president declared an abrupt end to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and imperiled the lives of many of young immigrants who grew up here, a.k.a., “Dreamers.” To be more precise, roughly 800,000 DREAMers anxiously wait for our Republican-controlled Congress to do something meaningful on immigration.
Legislative efforts came to screeching halt after Democrats refused to accept a less than friendly deal for immigrants that Senate Republicans proposed. Several Republicans were working with Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in hammering out a deal that addresses the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a bill called the Security, Enforcement, and Compassion United in Reform Efforts, or SECURE Act, which contains a whole host of conservative bona fides such as mandatory worker verification and changes to asylum policies. Senator Corbyn (R-TX), an enthusiastic supporter of the effort to destroy the working and middle class with the recent tax bill, rejects the idea that a solution to DACA can be reached by the end of the year.
“We are certainly willing to enter into those good-faith negotiations, but they do not belong in the end-of-the year spending appropriations debate,” Cornyn told reporters. “I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will take our word for it as demonstrated by our good faith in making an offer to them that we do want to resolve this but it’s not going to be before the end of this year.”
Durbin rejected the burdening proposal as he doesn’t believe the Republican Senators have any desire to work on a meaningful immigration bill.
Neither Sen. Cornyn nor Sen. Grassley has ever voted for the Dream Act,Durbin said in a statement, referring to his legislation with South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that would create a pathway to citizenship for DACA eligible individuals. This proposal, as I have told them personally, cannot be considered a good faith effort to provide protection for the Dreamers, including those who were enrolled in DACA.
Notwithstanding, the House hastily signed a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday that seeks a “balanced” solution by the end of the year. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of DREAMers face the prospect of deportation.
Featured image via YouTube
