[AicapAifap] US Senate Votes on Immigration Reform

[Alliance of Incarcerated Canadians/Foreigners in American Prisons]

CAPITOL HILL —  

	The U.S. Senate began a series of votes on immigration reform
Thursday after a war of words erupted between the White House and a
bipartisan group of lawmakers over a proposal to help young
undocumented immigrants and boost border security. 

	The White House signaled its intention to veto the measure if it ever
got to the president's desk. “That bill is officially, if it
wasn’t already obvious, DOA [dead on arrival],” said a senior
administration official in a background call with reporters
referencing the bipartisan #ImmigrationReform proposed legislation. 

	In an earlier statement, the White House said the measure “would
produce a flood of new illegal immigration” and “undermine the
safety and security of American families” by “weakening border
security and undermining existing immigration laws.” 

	Late Wednesday, 16 senators unveiled compromise legislation that
would offer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought
to the United States as children, boost border security funding by $25
billion, and focus immigration enforcement efforts on criminals,
threats to national security, and those arriving illegally after the
end of June. 

	“This is the one and only bill that deals with immigration issues
with broad bipartisan support,” Republican Susan Collins of Maine
said at a news conference. 

	“This is a narrow bill designed to confront two (immigration)
issues,” Maine Independent Angus King said. “Let’s not kid
ourselves. This is the only bill that has a chance to get through the
United States Senate.”  Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks to
reporters as he leaves the office of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who
is moderating bipartisan negotiations on immigration, at the Capitol
in Washington, Jan. 25, 2018.  

	Hours earlier, the Department of Homeland Security slammed the Senate
proposal's directive on which undocumented immigrants should be
targeted for removal as “the end of immigration enforcement in
America.” 

	“Who the hell wrote this?” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham
said. “It sounded like it came from a political hack, not DHS.” 

	Graham added that so long as immigration hardliners dominate in the
Trump administration, “We're going nowhere fast (on immigration
reform) at warp speed.” 

	President Donald Trump backs sweeping reforms that include limits on
family-based immigration and prioritizing newcomers who have advanced
work skills. 

	Trump's immigration agenda is encapsulated in legislation Republican
lawmakers introduced earlier this week. Democratic senators countered
with a proposal that pairs help for young immigrants with limited
border security enhancements.  FILE - A supporter of President Donald
Trump challenges police officers and a Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) program advocate during a rally outside the office of
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Los Angeles.  

	Neither partisan bill is expected to get the three-fifths backing
required to advance in the chamber, and conservative Republicans
joined the Trump administration in criticizing the bipartisan
compromise, calling it a de facto amnesty for million of current and
future undocumented immigrants. 

	“The race is on,” Oklahoma Senator James Lankford said. “If you
can get into the country and across the border by June 30 of this
year, you are in and you have amnesty. That (covers) every single
individual in the country unlawfully.”  Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,
left, walk to the chamber after collaborating on an agreement on a
two-year, nearly $400 billion budget, Feb. 7, 2018.  

	Democrats, meanwhile, accused Trump of blocking bipartisan solutions.


	“President Trump … has stood in the way of every single proposal
that has had a chance of becoming law,” Minority Leader Chuck
Schumer of New York said. “Now President Trump seems eager to spike
(defeat) the latest bipartisan compromise, potentially, with a veto.
Why? Because it isn’t 100 percent of what the president wants on
immigration.” 

	Schumer added: “That’s not how democracy works. You don’t get
100 percent of what you want in a democracy, maybe (you do) in a
dictatorship.” 

	Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, argued the
president’s case for major changes to immigration law. 

	“The DACA issue is just a symptom of our broken immigration
system,” McConnell said. “So the president has made clear, and I
strongly agree, that any legislation must also treat the root causes
and reform legal immigration. And it must also include common sense
steps to ensure the safety of the American people.” 

	Last year, the president rescinded Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals, or DACA, an Obama administration policy that allowed young
undocumented immigrants to work and study in the United States. Trump
gave lawmakers six months to craft a permanent legislative
replacement. 

	Trump put an end to DACA benefits beginning March 5. While two courts
have acted to extend the deadline, DACA beneficiaries could be at risk
of deportation unless Congress acts.
	Last Updated: February 15, 2018 2:53 PM 
Michael Bowman
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-sentae-to-vote-on-immigration-reform/4255931.html
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