After the attempt at a discharge petition spearheaded by Congressional moderates fell short of two of the needed 218 signatures on Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan is pushing lawmakers to vote next week on two anti-immigration bills that set up realistic immigration reform for failure.
The discharge petition, had it been successful, would have laid on the table more reasonable bills, including the Dream Act, the New York Times reported.
Ryan announced that the chamber will vote on the “Goodlatte Bill” pushed by Virginia representative Robert Goodlatte, and a so-called “compromise” bill that has yet to be drafted and will likely still include draconian measures that pump up border security and gut family-based immigration, according to Vox.
The former piece of legislation is a hard-line proposal that that would bar Dreamers from a path to citizenship; block family-based immigration; and authorize Congress to spend nearly $25 billion on border security.
Despite this, “multiple House GOP sources agree that neither Goodlatte’s bill or Ryan’s proposal will pass,” the Atlantic wrote. This means that immigration legislation is once again on track to be stalled in Congress, while Trump’s White House continues to exert all the power within their grasp to shape immigration policy for the worst.
“We were sent here to get things done,” New York Representative John Faso told the Atlantic, regarding his decision to sign the discharge petition. “Endlessly debating and not doing things on an issue of national importance is not what I prefer.”
When Trump ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in September of last year, he passed the buck to an impotent Congress. Since then, lawmakers have failed at every opportunity to proceed forward on sensible action and true compromise to resolve the tragic plight of thousands upon thousands of young Dreamers.
