Daily Beast: Trump and Dems Close To Deal To Save DACA

What do you think?

“Congressional negotiators are closer than is publicly acknowledged to finalizing an immigration deal that would codify legal protections for undocumented minors while giving President Donald Trump some tangible victories of his own.

The deal, which is largely being forged in the Senate, still faces major hurdles; chief among them a healthy skepticism by conservatives—including some officials in the Trump White House—and a difficult path to passage in the House. But one lawmaker told The Daily Beast that there was a “growing sense of optimism” that negotiators will end up with an agreement that could, at a minimum, pass the Senate and put pressure on others to then act. …”

The Senate DACA deal would do the following:

– DACA amnesty
– Undo the rollback of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, Salvadorans and Nicaraguans which has recently been touted as a white pill on several websites.

In exchange:

– Revamp, but not end, the diversity lottery
– Rework, but not end, the formula for chain migration. DREAMERS wouldn’t be allowed to sponsor relatives
– Strengthen the e-Verify system
– Less than $9 billion for some type of physical structure on the Mexican border

The House DACA bill has all kinds of bright, shiny goodies:

“House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) and Reps. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday unveiled a conservative plan that would grant dreamers an opportunity to apply for a legal residency that would be renewed every three years. Democrats and some Republicans reject such a plan.

The bill also would authorize construction of border walls and fencing; allow federal immigration and security agencies to hire at least 10,000 new agents; end the diversity lottery program; end the ability of new U.S. citizens to legally move family members into the United States; withhold federal funding from cities that refuse to help federal agencies enforce immigration laws; and intensify use of the E-Verify system to check an employee’s immigration status. …”

It doesn’t seem likely to pass the House though.

Now, if the House and Senate pass different versions of the DACA amnesty, which is what is happening here, the bills would have to be reconciled. Getting the bill past the House where Ryan needs the support of a majority of the Republican caucus is the major obstacle.

Oh BTW, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) has another amnesty in the works:

“Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), whose Denver-area district is being closely targeted by Democrats this year, introduced a bill to grant permanent legal residency to hundreds of thousands of people from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and other countries granted residency through the Temporary Protection Status program. …”

We’re left with the following questions:

1.) Why didn’t the Trump administration simply kill DACA, take a knee and score a major policy victory?

2.) If the Trump administration didn’t want to deal with the political fallout, why didn’t they simply allow the lawsuit filed by Texas and the other states to go to the Supreme Court?

3.) Why didn’t the Senate pass the border wall funding last year in April and September? Why does the border wall funding have to be linked to a DACA amnesty?

4.) Why is the Republican Party so desperate to save DACA after running on the issue to win the Senate in the 2014 midterms and Trump running against it in 2016?