Trump Signs Funding Bill Friday Afternoon to Avert Shutdown; Lawmakers Miss Opportunity to Act on Immigration

A few hours ago, President Trump signed a funding package that was passed by both chambers of Congress to avert another government shutdown. While the package has some good provisions related to immigration enforcement, I am disappointed that our lawmakers failed to capitalize on this opportunity to provide DACA and TPS recipients with a method to earn their legal status.
 
I do want to applaud the efforts of Republican and Democrat lawmakers in working together to increase funding for border security. The bill includes about $1.4 billion for new physical barriers along Texas’ border,  $755 million for point-of-entry inspection equipment and construction, $227 million for additional new border patrol technology and equipment, and funding for 600 more customs officers and 200 more border patrol agents. It also includes $414 million for humanitarian aid at the border, $527 million for humanitarian assistance in central America, and funding for 75 new immigration judges to help resolve the current backlog of over 800,000 immigration cases. These are good provisions.
 
However, because this funding is still not enough, President Trump also declared a national emergency this morning to reallocate additional federal funds towards adequately securing the border.
 
A couple weeks ago, Democrats seemed to be in a position of advantage to obtain some of the immigration policy initiatives they claim to want. President Trump and several Republicans lawmakers had indicated a willingness to fund border security and provide DACA and TPS recipients with a method to earn their legal status as part of a funding package to avoid another shutdown. What happened?
 
Along with Republicans, Democrats voted to put $1.4 billion in funding towards the border wall many of them said wouldn’t get one cent, without securing any type of protections for DACA or TPS recipients.
 
Democrats try to make Republicans out to be the bad guys on immigration, but this was their opportunity to get what they claim to want. All they had to do was agree to put $5.7 billion towards a border barrier. Now President Trump is probably going to get the border barrier funded anyway, and there are no new protections for Dreamers.
 
This makes it clear that Democrat lawmakers are not genuinely interested in fixing our broken immigration system. They would rather obstruct president Trump at any cost.
 
Instead of these political games, our nation and its economy would benefit greatly from real immigration reform that secures our border, allows DACA recipients to continue working in the United States, and provides the undocumented workers who are here and can pass background checks with a method to earn their legal status so the government can ID and tax them.
 
Come on Congress, get it together!
 
Please continue to contact your lawmakers and tell them you support sensible immigration reform.
 
May God continue to bless America.