Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WS) immigration compromise may come up for a vote this week. Originally the House was to vote on two bills on Thursday June 21, the Congressman Robert Goodlatte (R-VA) bill that was seen as a conservative vehicle and the Ryan bill that was labeled a compromise between moderate and conservative Republicans. The Goodlatte bill failed to get a majority with only 193 Republicans supporting it with some Republicans and all Democrats voting no. The final vote was 193 to 231. It then became apparent that the leadership bill would end up with fewer votes than the Goodlatte bill. Because they voted on the Goodlatte bill the discharge petition is eliminated.
The Ryan bill, which will likely get changed again, provides $23 billion for a wall, allocated in the first year—meaning it would not require annual appropriations. It would be protected from funding cuts by limiting access to DACA-covered young people if funding is reduced or transferred elsewhere. The legislation also includes $7 billion for “housing” for families arrested at the border with an additional $4 billion for implementation.
The DACA provisions are much less than what has been in past DREAMERS legislation. By some estimates as few as one-third of current DACA young people would be covered and only 18 percent of the larger DREAMERS populations would be covered. It would modify the 1997 Flores settlement by allowing accompanied alien minors taken in at the border to be incarcerated in family detention centers—voiding the current limitation of twenty days.
House Republican leaders have said negotiations were continuing over the weekend. It is unclear how the President’s comments on Friday that they ought to delay action until after this November’s election will impact any votes.
