State GOP lawmakers duck DACA blowback

Texas officials try to paint divisive issue as a federal matter

AUSTIN — As passions continue to flare over a Trump administration decision to end an Obama-era program providing legal status to young immigrants who are in the country illegally, state Republican leaders are quickly pushing away from the issue.

They prefer to portray it as a problem for Congress to fix in Washington.

But if Congress’ decision leads to thousands of deportations and sparks a backlash, Texas Democrats will do all they can to use it against Republicans who support ending the program in next year’s elections, political consultants and party leaders said Thursday.

“That’s not only possible, it’s probable,” said Matt Angle, a longtime Democratic Party strategist who has been critical of top Republican leaders over their longstanding support of

ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“The Republican leaders have pursued a policy to repeal DACA, and now that it’s coming to a head, they’re trying to pass the buck to Washington,” Angle said. “Their policies have been directly hostile to Latino voters, but this issue extends beyond Latino voters. What they’re afraid of is fair-minded Anglo voters who think the repeal of DACA is unfair, wrong and stupid.”

‘Congress has to fix this’

Not so, contends state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, chairman of the GOP caucus in the Senate where support for repealing DACA has been strong.

“Congress has to fix this. No one else can,” Bettencourt said of Houston. “If they don’t, then they may be labeled a do-nothing Congress, but people realize the difference between Washington and Austin.

“I don’t see any effect in Texas from this.”

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump gave Congress six months to pass a law on the incendiary immigration issue originally launched with an executive order by Barack Obama, allowing more than 800,000 people to stay in the United States under a two-year renewable visa that allows them to work or study without fear of deportation.

On Thursday, 15 states and the District of Columbia sued the federal government to block Trump’s plan to end the protection against deportation. Filed in federal court in Brooklyn, the suit seeks to strike down Trump’s action as unconstitutional.

The suit calls the move “a culmination of President Trump’s oft-stated commitments … to punish and disparage people with Mexican roots.”

The attorneys general who brought the lawsuit — all Democrats — represent states where the population of DACA participants — known as “dreamers” — ranges from hundreds to tens of thousands. They were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas.

Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton, have called for the repeal of DACA.

Following Trump’s announcement Wednesday, Abbott said it was a federal decision that needed to be made by Congress — and was nothing that state officials have a role in determining.

Jamie Bennett, press secretary for the Republican Party of Texas, said the issue GOP leaders have with DACA has been “federal overreach and its abuse of the rule of law.” He said the state party is optimistic that Congress will move quickly to replace DACA with a sound and legal immigration policy.

But how that is defined remains an open question.

In the past, Texas Republicans have been split on the issue — with conservative GOP members favoring a tougher policy against immigrants in the country illegally while moderates favor a more conciliatory approach to dealing with the “Dreamers” who have become solid citizens.

Targeting lawmakers

Nationally, more than 800,000 immigrants are covered by DACA, officials have said.

Despite the Republicans’ differing stances, Democrats and pro-DACA activists have vowed to continue their frequent protests as Congress prepares to tackle the issue.

Crystal Zermeno,the director of electoral strategy with the Texas Organizing Project, a Democraticleaning nonprofit that advocates for Hispanic and black communities in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, said the organization is targeting three congressmen — Pete Sessions of Dallas, John Culberson of Houston and Will Hurd of Helotes — who they hope will work to give DACA recipients permanent legal status.

Their constituents are more likely to favor immigration reform, Zermeno said. So the organization is optimistic that the three GOP House members will vote in favor of protecting DACA recipients.

“We are going to keep the pressure up, so when it comes time to voting, they are all voting the right way,” she said. “We cannot let our guard down because there is going to be immense pressure on every Republican member in Congress to vote in line with the party.”

If the three representatives do not vote in favor of extending protections to young immigrants, then Zermeno said TOP and other organizations will target their seats.

“It’ll be clear where people fell on the issue, and we will be mobilizing and letting people know how members of Congress stood on immigration issues,” she said.

At the state level, Paxton is a “huge target,” Zermeno said. In June, Paxton and GOP officials from nine other states demanded that the Trump administration rescind DACA or face legal action if it was not rescinded by Sept. 5.

“We are constantly beating a drum around him,” Zermeno said. “We want to keep remind people who is to blame.”