Democrats, not Republicans, may face the toughest choice over what they are willing to accept as lawmakers begin weighing tradeoffs to pass "Dream Act" legislation protecting more than than 800,000 young illegal immigrants.
Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, who said they secured a deal with President Trump over dinner last week, which the White House denied, have ruled out giving the GOP and the president the federal funding Trump seeks to build a southern border wall as part of a deal to secure the immigration bill protecting young illegals, known as Dreamers, from deportation.
But Trump said he will not sign off on a deal that excludes "massive border security," which many Democrats oppose because they don't want illegal immigrants already in the U.S. to face more aggressive deportation efforts by the federal government.
For Democrats, it will become a tradeoff between protecting Dreamers, who arrived in the U.S. as children of illegal immigrants, in exchange for provisions that could increase deportation of thousands of others who do not qualify for the program.
"We are going to be faced with a decision at some point," Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., told the Washington Examiner. "We are talking about the humanity of 800,000 plus the two million who would age in, and a Dream Act that would protect them in perpetuity. And in exchange, some security demands that we have resisted and voted against historically. It's a bitter choice I hope we don't have to make. "
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05.17.2024