02/15/2018
Every bill brought before the Senate on immigration went down to defeat on Thursday.Of course, first, the good news. The Senate rejected a "bipartisan" immigration bill which would have provided amnesty for DACA recipients and $25 billion for border security (extended over a decade). In other words, it was amnesty in exchange for nothing.
Not invoked, 52-47: cloture on Durbin (for Coons) amendment #1955 in relation to HR2579, the vehicle for immigration reform.
— Floor Monitor (@senategopfloor) February 15, 2018
The US Senate on Thursday shot down a bipartisan immigration bill aimed at protecting 1.8 million “Dreamers” from deportation and boosting border security, setting up a crunch vote on President Donald Trump’s more hardline plan.By "some," AFP means those who want to pass amnesty and fool the rubes into thinking something is being done about border security. President Trump’s opposition has to be credited here.The measure received a majority vote of 54 to 45, but it failed to reach the 60-vote threshold to advance legislation in the 100-member chamber.
The defeat of the bipartisan bill, seen by some as the best chance to pass immigration reform, came just hours after the White House issued a veto threat on the legislation.
[Senate rejects bipartisan immigration bill, by AFP, Breitbart, February 15, 2018]
The Schumer-Rounds-Collins immigration bill would be a total catastrophe. @DHSgov says it would be “the end of immigration enforcement in America.” It creates a giant amnesty (including for dangerous criminals), doesn’t build the wall, expands chain migration, keeps the visa …
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2018
… lottery, continues deadly catch-and-release, and bars enforcement even for FUTURE illegal immigrants. Voting for this amendment would be a vote AGAINST law enforcement, and a vote FOR open borders. If Dems are actually serious about DACA, they should support the Grassley bill!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2018
Which brings us to the "Grassley Plan":
The bill from Grassley and his colleagues, the Secure and Succeed Act of 2018, was announced late Sunday. The bill largely implements the White House’s four-pillar immigration proposal: A path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants, including the 800,000 beneficiaries of DACA; $25 billion for border security, including a wall; an end to the diversity visa lottery; and a phasing out of extended-family chain migration.Unfortunately for the president, the Grassley plan also went down to defeat.[Trump backs Grassley immigration bill, by Charles Fain Lehman, Washington Free Beacon, February 14, 2018]
JUST IN: In a sharp rebuke, Senate rejects Trump-backed GOP immigration reform plan 39 to 60.
— Ed O'Keefe (@edatpost) February 15, 2018
Finally, Democrats blocked an attempt by Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey to limit funding to "sanctuary cities." It won a majority of 54 votes, including from red state Democrats Joe Donnelly (Indiana), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Claire McCaskill (Missouri), and Debbie Stabenow (Michigan), who are up for re-election. But it needed sixty votes to be implemented [Senate Dems block crackdown on sanctuary cities, by Jordain Carney, The Hill, February 15, 2018].
What’s the next step? It goes back to the House, where the GOP is putting its weight behind the Goodlatte bill, which provides amnesty (but not a path to citizenship) for DACA recipients, as well as limiting legal immigration [House GOP leaders will whip conservative immigration bill, by Scott Wong, The Hill, February 13, 2018]. The White House could also simply let DACA expire and force Democrats back to the negotation table that way.
But the real problem is that the Senate, including many Republicans, are simply irrationally committed to an ever-increasing amount of legal immigration. Even after President Trump’s victory, many of them still don’t get it. Still, it’s an improvement on what has happened before.
That’s a significant messaging defeat for Trump, but still a big shift for the GOP. It’s unlikely a bill with major legal immigration cuts would have gotten half that support pre-Trump. https://t.co/2ouifgkvSW
— Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) February 15, 2018
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