Paul Ryan, cornered on immigration, defers to Trump

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has little choice but to defer to President Trump on proposals to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who participated in, or are eligible for, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Midterm primaries are just weeks away. Texas votes on March 6, the day after deportation protection for the so-called “Dreamers” expires. House Republicans need political cover from Trump, an immigration hawk beloved by the GOP base, if they’re to risk crossing their most committed voters and supporting legislation that could provide amnesty to around 2 million people.

“In Republican primaries, the voters are overwhelmingly — about 3-1 or so — opposed to supporting illegal conduct by giving amnesty,” Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., told the Washington Examiner.

Brooks is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of about 40 conservatives that firmly opposes just about all forms of amnesty — even for individuals like the Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents and had no hand in the decision to break the law.

He hails from a state, and district, that are representative of the strong opposition to protecting illegal immigrants from deportation that has developed over the years among grassroots Republicans. They are who tend to dominate Republican primaries for Congress.
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