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Immigration Proposal Reportedly Near, but No Easy Answers

by Katherine Gypson

   CAPITOL HILL --

   Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said Thursday a group of
   senators, the so-called Gang of Six, had reached an immigration deal
   and was waiting for a White House review. News reports said the deal
   includes a DACA fix and enhanced border security measures, although no
   details were available.

   However, Senate Republicans are doubtful that conservative members will
   sign off on that kind of deal.

   In the meantime, Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said
   talks were still ongoing.

   President Donald Trump told congressional leaders Tuesday the bill
   permanently settling the status of the more than 800,000 undocumented
   young people brought to the United States as children should be "a bill
   of love."

   Capitol Hill's permanent legislative solution for the so-called
   Dreamers will likely come in one of three forms: as part of a broader
   immigration reform package; as an attachment to the spending deal
   funding the U.S. government past a January 19 deadline; or as
   stand-alone legislation -- referred to as a "clean" Dream Act.

   With deep party divisions over immigration reform and only four working
   days left until funding runs out, the twists and turns on the path to
   passing that bill are anything but simple.

   While Trump has repeatedly said he wants to see a solution for the
   beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, he
   has not provided clarity on the method for that solution.

   In a meeting with lawmakers Tuesday, he issued a four-item wish list:
   DACA, a border wall, replacing family-based immigration with a
   merit-based one system, and eliminating the diversity visa.

   Since last September when Trump ended DACA, congressional Republicans
   have maintained that the program should be part of a broader
   immigration bill, opening the door to a wide range of issues.

   "This has to be balanced so we don't have a DACA problem five, 10 years
   down the road," House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said
   Tuesday.

   Border security maybe, but no wall

   Trump has specified that DACA legislation has to include measures to
   "secure the border." The unresolved question is whether this includes a
   continuous physical wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that was one of
   the president's centerpiece campaign promises or a package of border
   security measures.

   Congressional Democrats facing re-election in the 2018 mid-terms are
   opposed to funding a physical border wall. They hold the cards in this
   debate; without their votes for a budget deal, the U.S government will
   shut down after January 19.

   "The president agreed we ought to do it in two phases because we have
   an emergency," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat,
   said Wednesday of the March 5 deadline for DACA expiration. "We need to
   make sure they're protected and included and welcomed now."

   Republican Representatives Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both
   from Florida, have also promised to vote against any spending bill that
   does not include a DACA fix. Curbelo sponsored the Recognizing
   America's Children Act, one of several bills in Congress that if passed
   would provide a permanent legislative solution for Dreamers.

   Democrats' calculations on the budget deal could change if the border
   enforcement piece included repair of existing sections of border
   fencing and more technology for surveillance. A proposal by border
   Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican from Texas, for a SMART "wall"
   using drone and biometric technology to police the border could provide
   a blueprint for that approach. SMART is an acronym for Secure Miles
   with All Resources and Technology.

   "We're willing to give a little when it comes to border security, but
   we're not willing to give away the whole hog," said Arizona
   Representative Ruben Gallego, a Democrat.

   Democrats from the more progressive wing of their party are reluctant
   to give too much on border enforcement in return for a DACA fix.

   Immigration system

   For Illinois Representative Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat and a longtime
   supporter of Dreamers, Trump's desire to undo family-based immigration
   is ironic.

   "He couldn't even go to the White House without bringing his daughter
   and his son-in-law with him -- well, guess what -- that's the way
   businesses work and that's how families thrive in America," Gutierrez
   told reporters Tuesday night. He added that family-based migration is
   "fundamental to who we are."

   Opponents say the current system of family migration creates a security
   risk by allowing an easy pathway into residency in the United States.
   Supporters say the practice allowing an immigrant into the U.S. to
   sponsor green cards for spouses, children and siblings reunites
   families.

   A bill introduced in the U.S. House by Republican Representatives Bob
   Goodlatte of Virginia and Michael McCaul of Texas, joined by
   conservative Freedom Caucus member Raul Labrador, an Idaho Republican,
   and Congresswoman Martha McSally, an Arizona Republican, addresses all
   of these issues and eliminates the diversity visa, another item on
   Trump's wish list.

   This bill would "honor the commitment the president made to couple it
   [DACA fix] with securing our borders and ending chain migration,"
   Goodlatte said Wednesday, referring to family-based migration.

   Passing the bill, however, will take time and, with neither side eager
   to appear responsible for shutting down the U.S. government, the
   expectation from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is
   that each of these issues will have to be resolved step by step.

   "It's still my view that I will call up a DACA-related immigration bill
   that I know the president will sign," he said Monday, "and that it will
   not be a part of any overall spending agreement."

   Katherine Gypson is a reporter for VOA's News Center in Washington,
   D.C.  Prior to joining VOA in 2013, Katherine produced documentary and
   public affairs programming in Afghanistan, Tunisia and Turkey. She also
   produced and co-wrote a 12-episode road-trip series for Pakistani
   television exploring the United States during the 2012 presidential
   election. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from American
   University. Follow her @kgyp