Dreamer talk puts Cornyn on tightrope
WASHINGTON — Texas Republican John Cornyn, whose past immigration work has earned him enemies on the left and right, could face his toughest challenge on the issue yet in Congress’ Dreamer dilemma.
As the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, Cornyn is responsible for pushing his party’s hard line against illegal immigration —which includes the tough task of brokering a deal to protect young undocumented immigrants while enacting tough border security measures.
But as a senator from a state where the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the nation’s immigration policies have an outsized effect, he’s also keenly aware of the effect any eventual deal could have on his home state’s politics —and his own political future.
Cornyn faces re-election in 2020 in a state where Republicans often face greater threats in primaries than general elections. But both Republicans and Democrats in Texas believe the route Republicans take on immigration policy during President Donald Trump’s first term could reshape the state’s solidly red politics in the not-so distant future.
By wading into the middle of one of the most contentious issues dividing the national base, Cornyn risks alienating allies on both flanks. If he succeeds, he could steer Texas Republicans toward what he sees as a sustainable future with the state’s rapidly changing population, where Latinos are swiftly gaining clout.
“I think President Trump has given us a great opportunity to get something that he campaigned on, that all of us have said we’re for, which is increased border security and enforcement of the law,” Cornyn said last week of Congress’s ongoing DACA discussions.
At the same time, he added, Congress needs to “provide some relief” for the more than 800,000 children living in the country under the program’s protections, “showing a little bit of compassion for young adults whose circumstances are not of their own making.”
Long an advocate for bringing minorities into his party, Cornyn is now using his leverage in Senate leadership to push his party toward a border security plan he hopes can satisfy the eager GOP tough-on-immigration bloc and the nuanced immigration interests of his home state.
His proposal includes funding for the Republicans’ eagerly-sought border wall, but not the unbroken concrete wall Trump has championed. In some places, the Cornyn plan adds surveillance technology and border security guards in places along the border where a wall is less practical, such as through Texas’s Big Bend National Park.
Cornyn worked on the plan with another Texas Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul. The House Homeland Security Committee approved McCaul’s bill last week.
Cornyn’s proposal falls well short of the immigration crackdowns the White House has said it wants from DACA negotiations.
The administration plan, released Sunday night, includes changes to legal immigration and asylum policies, in exchange for protection for the young adults living in the country under DACA’s protections. About 125,000 Dreamers live in Texas.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are now reviewing Trump’s ideas. Texas Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser, who has worked for Cornyn, McCaul and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said that while those conversations are still in the early stages, Texans are wary of White House immigration policies crafted by hardliners.
“All of the polling I’ve seen on Hispanic voters in Texas shows there’s a lot of room on border security,” said Steinhauser.