In the minority? You will lose
Winners and losers of the recent federal government shutdown won’t be determined for months — at the next general election in November. Even so, the spin is working overtime now to persuade voters that either #DemsCaved or that the #TrumpShutdown was the fault of recalcitrant Republicans.
In real life, of course, the actual losing hand has been dealt to the 800,000 or so young men and women who deserve to have their ability to live and work in the United States safeguarded.
The beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program have been in limbo since the fall, when President Donald Trump ended an executive order started by the Obama administration. That edict allowed certain immigrants who were brought to this country as children to qualify for protected status, meaning they can work and attend school without fear of being deported.
Trump had said he wanted Congress to pass legislation before the March 5 deadline his administration gave for renewals to be accepted. Congress, of course, caught up in attempting to repeal health care coverage or granting tax cuts to the wealthy, failed to act. Legislators also had not passed a budget, setting up the prospect of the government running out of money. A vote on a continuing resolution to keep funding flowing was necessary — which Congress, naturally, put off until the last possible moment to create a crisis where none needed to exist.
Democrats in the Senate held up the financing of the U.S. government over the weekend in an attempt to force Congress to deal with DACA legislation. The Democrats also wanted Congress to fund health insurance for children, the Children’s Health Insurance Program . On Monday, Democratic holdouts agreed to approve a short-term financing resolution so long as CHIP was passed and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would agree to a vote on DACA in the coming weeks.
Is this a win for Democrats or more weakness? They obtained insurance for millions of kids but failed to protect young immigrants. The progressive base is furious, yes, but with a hard-right, nativist caucus in the House of Representatives (not to mention anti-immigrant advisers whispering in Trump’s ear) the Democrats in the Senate emerged alive to fight another day.
As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman tweeted Monday, after the deal was announced: “I yield to nobody in my desire to see Dems stand up to Trump. But I really, really don’t understand the notion that they somehow just caved in. They took CHIP off the table; they got an agreement to hold a vote on DACA, and failing to honor that agreement will be bad for Rs.” Former GOP Congressman David Jolly of Florida had this take, also via Twitter: “[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer lost the weekend battle. But pollsters might say he set the perfect trap. The longer Trump’s GOP shows it can’t solve DACA, allows [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions, [Chief of Staff John] Kelly & [adviser Stephen] Miller at the mic, & baits right wing media racial absurdities, the closer an energized progressive base gets to Nov.”
That doesn’t change the reality that in the short term, there is real pain. The young people who qualify for DACA would have been protected under the DREAM Act, which failed in Congress (which is why President Barack Obama took executive action). Known as Dreamers, they could face deportation. They may not be able to work or to attend school. They could watch as their families are ripped apart.
What is happening to immigrants in this country right now — by order of this president and his advisers — is appalling. It is not supported by a majority of Americans, but appeals to an ugly streak in our national character.
These actions will not stop until and unless more moderate Republican candidates replace right-wingers in the House and more Democrats are elected to Congress in both chambers. The practice of the House only to consider legislation that a majority of its members will approve means that a minority can jam up the works — and that is what the so-called Freedom Caucus does. With only 31 members, it routinely blocks bills with broad support. They aren’t even considered.
Already, House Republican Whip Steve Scalise has told reporters that the House is not obligated to uphold McConnell’s promise on the Senate floor to turn to immigration. Even though McConnell’s pledge was key to ending the stalemate, the House is going its own way. House members want to ensure any protection for Dreamers also will include money for a border wall and additional border security. They also want overall changes to the immigration system that will hurt families trying to unify — a more cruel process, in other words. If they don’t budge, then what?
With Democrats in the minority in both the House and the Senate, there may be no way to help DACA recipients until the next election. That’s when the true winners will be determined.