{"id":58111,"date":"2018-02-06T05:09:24","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T05:09:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=58111"},"modified":"2018-02-06T05:09:24","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T05:09:24","slug":"new-bipartisan-immigration-plan-introduced-in-senate-by-mccain-and-coons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/new-bipartisan-immigration-plan-introduced-in-senate-by-mccain-and-coons.html","title":{"rendered":"New bipartisan immigration plan introduced in Senate by McCain and Coons"},"content":{"rendered":"

New bipartisan immigration plan introduced in Senate by McCain and Coons<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Two senators eager to see Congress start crossing items off its long to-do list introduced a bipartisan plan Monday designed to settle two of the more pressing parts of the immigration debate and let lawmakers move on to other issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) formally introduced a bill that would grant permanent legal status to undocumented immigrants known as \u201cdreamers\u201d and start bolstering security along the U.S.-Mexico border. But the measure would not immediately authorize spending the $25 billion President Trump is seeking to fortify the border with new wall and fence construction. Some Republicans are seeking at least $30 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

The McCain-Coons plan also would grant legal status to dreamers who have been in the country since 2013 \u2014 a larger pool of undocumented immigrants than the 1.8 million Trump supports legalizing.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bill says nothing about curbing family-based legal migration or making changes to the diversity lottery program \u2014 two other priorities for Trump and conservative Republicans.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coons told reporters Monday that he has not heard from top congressional leaders about his proposal and that he considers it one of several proposals that could earn a vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coons said that \u201ca broader solution\u201d introduced by Sens. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) is one possible compromise for senators to support, but added that he is \u201calso conscious of the fact that there\u2019s very little time left\u201d before the March 5 deadline to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for dreamers. Coons said that Trump\u2019s \u201cunconstructive engagement\u201d with Durbin and Graham on the issue means that their bill \u201cmay not be feasible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump, Durbin and Graham clashed in an Oval Office meeting last month when the president dismissed some of their potential proposals and labeled some African nations and Haiti as \u201cshithole countries\u201d \u2014 comments that roiled Washington for several days and contributed to a partial government shutdown.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coons said his proposal with McCain could be a \u201cfresh start\u201d and a \u201cstrong starting place\u201d for the Senate\u2019s upcoming debate.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a statement, McCain said the bill \u201cwould address the most urgent priorities\u201d of legalizing the status of dreamers and make changes to border security \u2014 and allow Congress to move on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time we end the gridlock so we can quickly move on to completing a long-term budget agreement that provides our men and women in uniform the support they deserve,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new legislation comes as Congress has four days to meet another short-term spending deadline, at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Immigration has been a dominant subject of the months-long talks to set new federal spending levels, as Democrats have insisted on enacting changes in immigration policy to win their support ever since Trump announced plans in September to end the DACA program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program is scheduled to end March 5, although members of both parties think that an ongoing federal court case that challenged Trump\u2019s decision could keep the program operating for at least a few more months if Congress does not act.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump, however, appeared to stand firm on his demands to fund the wall as part of any DACA legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny deal on DACA that does not include STRONG border security and the desperately needed WALL is a total waste of time,\u201d he tweeted Monday. \u201cMarch 5th is rapidly approaching and the Dems seem not to care about DACA. Make a deal!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A three-day partial government shutdown last month was forced in part by Democrats who withheld support for a short-term spending plan until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agreed to allow votes on immigration legislation if a compromise can\u2019t be included as part of the next short-term spending bill. Negotiators in both parties and both chambers are still working on a potential plan and are expected to continue doing so this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Durbin, a lead Democratic negotiator on immigration policy, said that \u201cthere is not likely to be a DACA deal\u201d this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

He told CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union\u201d on Sunday: \u201cI don\u2019t see a government shutdown coming, but I do see a promise by Senator McConnell to finally bring this critical issue that affects the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in America, finally bringing it to a full debate. That\u2019s what we were looking for when there was a shutdown. We\u2019ve achieve that goal, we\u2019re moving forward.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether the McCain-Coons bill could pass the Senate is unclear \u2014 but it is nearly identical to legislation already introduced in the House with wide support. The USA Act, introduced by Reps. Will Hurd (R-Tex.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), has 54 co-sponsors \u2014 27 members from each party \u2014 and has been the subject of conversations between Trump administration officials and senior congressional leaders trying to sort out the contours of a potential immigration debate.<\/span><\/p>\n

But conservative lawmakers and some administration officials already consider the plan insufficient because it wouldn\u2019t do more to boost security along the southern border.<\/span><\/p>\n

Like the House version, the new Senate bill calls for the use of drones and other technology to establish better \u201csituational awareness and operational control of the border.\u201d Rather than immediately spending the billions of dollars Trump is seeking for new wall and fencing construction, the legislation would require the secretary of homeland security to submit to Congress a new southern border security strategy within a year of the bill\u2019s passage. That plan would need to include \u201ca list of known physical barriers, levees, technologies, tools, and other devices that can be used to achieve and maintain situational awareness and operational control along the southern border\u201d and a projected cost per mile for any changes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile reaching a deal cannot come soon enough for America\u2019s service members, the current political reality demands bipartisan cooperation to address the impending expiration of the DACA program and secure the southern border,\u201d McCain said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coons added that the bill \u201cdoesn\u2019t solve every immigration issue, but it does address the two most pressing problems we face: protecting DACA recipients and securing the border.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

McCain is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a leading defense hawk who is furious about the slow pace of negotiations on increased federal spending levels. Supporters of increased military spending in both parties want Congress to enact a budget plan so the Pentagon can work on long-term planning.<\/span><\/p>\n

McCain has Stage 4 brain cancer and has been absent from Washington since before Christmas. He is not expected to be on Capitol Hill this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sponsoring this immigration measure is a stark departure from McCain\u2019s aggressive stance on border security. During his 2010 reelection campaign, he vowed to \u201ccomplete the danged fence\u201d across Arizona\u2019s span with Mexico. In 2013, he was a lead GOP negotiator on a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform plan that passed overwhelmingly in the Senate but fizzled in the House.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coons is a relative newcomer to the years-long fight over immigration policy \u2014 but he has been an eager participant in recent bipartisan talks to end a partial government shutdown and broker a compromise on immigration policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/powerpost\/wp\/2018\/02\/04\/new-bipartisan-immigration-plan-to-be-introduced-in-the-senate\/?utm_term=.454d3d41e0a2<\/span><\/p>\n

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