Congressional Democrats, Republicans Should Stop Playing Games & Pass DACA Reform

Many of us know that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program is:

An American immigration policy that allows some individuals, under restrictive conditions, who entered the country as minors and had either entered or remained in the country without legal permission to do so, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit. As of 2017, approximately 800,000 individuals were enrolled in the program created by DACA.

This Executive Order was created by President Obama in June 2012, and many think he implemented it by abusing his Executive Power.

The reason? Because as president, who campaigned on the promise of passing “immigration reform” in his first year as president, Mr. Obama failed to fulfill his campaign promise to pass immigration reform.

Even worse, he did not even propose it with a Democrat Congress even though they have power over the House and the Senate. Obama failed, and instead spent his time on a healthcare bill that has been a disaster.

So after that, he made the decision and implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA. It was a Band-Aid to try to appease the people who have helped him get elected under that promise.

Fast forward six years, and now the future of the people directly affected by DACA — not to mention the many others who surround them as family, teachers, co-workers or employers — are in the hands of Congress.

But are they? Or are they in the hands of President Trump?

Congressional Republicans had recently said they are open to including a 3-year “Immigration Fix” in the upcoming Omnibus Spending Package, but they are only “waiting to hear if President Trump would agree”.

Last week, the White House proposed a “3-for-3” approach to Congress, which would extend DACA protections for three years in exchange for three years of Border Wall funding. But many believe that the President has since ruled out that specific approach, while leaving the door open to some compromise on border wall funding and DACA, which would protect those immigrants brought to the country illegally as minors.

The following statements came afterward:

“If there were a deal cut that could be added to the Omnibus, we would welcome that. But right now, what was reported as a 3-for-3 deal is not something the White House would support,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters.

And Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK,) a House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman, said:

“I don’t have a problem with it, as long as it’s something the president wants, as opposed to us trying to force him into doing something.”

This is absolutely outrageous, ill-conceived and senseless!

Republicans have expressed frustration with the lack of a clear message from the White House.

“We were watching to see where that would go. There were members here that would be open to that as well, but they’ve already pulled it down,” said a senior Republican source of the White House trial balloon.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (left, R-FL) said that without a hard deadline, a long-term solution was unlikely. A February Supreme Court ruling effectively eliminated the March 5th deadline President Trump set when he announced he would scrap the program in September.

Further court action could allow the program to lapse.

“That pressure is gone, and this process works on pressure and deadlines,” said Diaz-Balart.

“I’m relieved for the DACA folks, but we need to find a long-term solution. And right now, I would tell you that momentum is kind of gone,” he said.

If Congress — Republicans and Democrats both — will do nothing more than what President Trump provides them cover for, WITHOUT coming forward with any policy proposals of their own, why do we have a republic with three branches of government? Why do we have “Checks & Balances” if Congress is only going to do as the President says or wants?

What then would be the difference between a President Barack Obama, or a President Donald Trump? One simply used an Executive Action to make a decision, the other will tell Congress what to do — either way, legislators get off the hook of having to provide their own input.

But legislators are elected to REPRESENT their Districts and States. Pathetic.

It’s time for Congressional Democrats and Republicans to do immigration reform, and stop playing games with the American Public. Both Democrats and Republicans need to make some difficult decisions, but that’s what they signed up for. It would help if they also understood that there won’t be a way to keep the Liberal-Progressive-Democrat base, or the Trump-Republican base happy 100% of the time, no matter what is decided. Immigration Reform is NOT Amnesty. Border security is a must and people must to follow the rule of law.

The legislators need to do what is best for America, and certainly they need to provide a solution for the lives of those who were brought into this country as minors. They also need to understand that “immigration reform” might just have to include a pathway to legal status. President Trump himself alluded to these issues in his State of the Union Address, and after all, “Politics is the Art of the Compromise”. I myself was surprised with President Trump generous offer to the Dreamers. Democrats did not want to help to solve the issue.

We need to decide what is best for the United States, for the economy, and for safety of our country. But that decision needs to be made by Congress, not be left solely in the hands of the president — who still feels pressure from those who elected him based on that sole issue.

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