Immigration deal eludes Republicans
House rejects Trump bid, defeats compromise reforms
WASHINGTON – Immigration hawks in Congress brushed aside an all-caps Twitter appeal by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, helping vote down GOP-drafted immigration reform legislation for the second time in as many weeks.
The lopsided 301to-121 vote in the House capped a two-week push by Republican leaders to fund a border wall with Mexico, cut back on legal immigration, address family separations and provide legal status — including a possible path to citizenship — for young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.
The setback, while expected, underscored Republican divisions on immigration at a time when the administration has been under fire over the separation of more than 2,000 children from their families apprehended on the border.
In the end, the delicately-crafted compromise co-sponsored by Texas U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul was not enough to overcome objections from Democrats seeking sweeping protections for Dreamers. Many Republicans wanted a more forceful crackdown on illegal immigration.
In all, 112 Republicans — including 16 from Texas — voted against the bill, joining 189 Democrats.
Texas Republicans, like much of the GOP conference, split on different aspects of the piecemeal legislation, which was assembled hastily without hearings over the past few weeks. Among those casting “no” votes were
moderates such as Will Hurd, a San Antonio Republican who has pushed for legislation granting greater protections to Dreamers. Tyler Republican Louie Gohmert, a Freedom Caucus member and outspoken critic of illegal immigration, also voted against the bill.
The failure to find a GOP consensus made it increasingly unlikely the Republican-led Congress will try to pass major immigration legislation before the November midterm elections. Instead, GOP leaders signaled they will try to pass more narrowly-drawn measures dealing with the separation of immigrant children on the border, a humanitarian crisis that has sparked a global outcry.
The vote also was a partial repudiation of Trump, who reversed himself twice: First telling House Republicans in a closeddoor meeting he was “1,000 percent” behind their immigration bills, then saying on Twitter last week that they were “wasting their time” trying to pass major immigration legislation ahead of the 2018 elections.
But hours before the House vote on Wednesday Trump took to Twitter again, this time to rally GOP support for the latest immigration plan.
“HOUSE REPUBLICANS SHOULD PASS THE STRONG BUT FAIR IMMIGRATION BILL,” he wrote in all-caps. “EVEN THOUGH THE DEMS WON’T LET IT PASS IN THE SENATE. PASSAGE WILL SHOW THAT WE WANT STRONG BORDERS & SECURITY WHILE THE DEMS WANT OPEN BORDERS = CRIME. WIN!”
Immigration hard-liners balked at new protections for Dreamers that some saw as “amnesty.” Democrats stood uniformly opposed to the $25 billion in wall funding the bill would authorize, as well as the prospect of detaining children indefinitely while their parents go through immigration proceedings.
Among the Texas conservatives opposing the bill was San Antonio Republican Lamar Smith. “It’s amnesty today, and border security sometime in the future, if then,” he said.
But other Texas Republicans argued that the bill could be a step toward reform. “In my view, a ‘no’ vote was a vote to maintain the status quo for these important issues — like most Texans, I strongly believe that the status quo is unacceptable,” said Rep. Bill Flores, a Republican from Bryan.
Houston Republican John Culberson, who is in a tough re-election battle with Democrat Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, voted against the bill, citing “serious shortcomings” on e-verify and Dreamers.
“While the bill provides much needed border security funding and a solution for the DACA population,” he said, “it does not include e-verify and would ultimately provide a pathway to citizenship for the parents of DACA recipients who knowingly broke the law, unlike their children.”
The vote came a week after the House rejected a more conservative measure that offered fewer protections for Dreamers. That effort, which failed 231-193, prompted House Speaker Paul Ryan to push back action until this week on what he said would be a “compromise” immigration bill.
But attempts to mediate between GOP moderates and more conservative “Freedom Caucus” members stalled amid questions about Trump’s support, and whether the Senate would even take up any immigration deal that could win a majority in the House.
Both GOP bills provided wall funding and beefed up immigration enforcement. They differed chiefly in their treatment of Dreamers, who are currently protected by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The earlier version provided DACA recipients with three-year renewable visas, as opposed to six years in the revised bill. The compromise legislation also expanded eligibility beyond those who qualify but have not already registered for the DACA program. The new version also would set up a merit-based visa system that made it easier for Dreamers to apply for citizenship, something many conservatives opposed.
The scramble to save the GOP legislation included an 11th hour amendment with sweeteners such as mandatory e-verify, a database for employers to check the legal status of prospective workers. The amendment was dropped Tuesday when it failed to win over many conservative legislators.