A bipartisan deal on immigration, the so-called “Common Sense Plan,” failed on February 15, 2018, in the U.S. Senate, 54-45. (The bill needed at least 60 votes to advance.) The legislation would have provided a pathway to legalization for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) “Dreamers” and provided $25 billion for border security measures, among other things. Reportedly, the Trump administration opposed the deal and had threatened to veto it despite substantial bipartisan support. A White House-supported bill also failed in the Senate, 39-60. The latter bill would have cut family immigration, ended the diversity visa (DV) program, and increased federal removal powers. Two other immigration proposals also failed on February 15.

Sen. John Thune was quoted as saying, “Well, we’ll go back to the drawing board.” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she was “very disappointed” and added that “we’ve got real problems that we need to solve.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is hard at work on a tough bill—the “Securing America’s Future Act,” also dubbed the “Goodlatte bill” after its main author, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. That bill appears not to have sufficient support in either the House or the Senate. Among other things, the bill would provide temporary, renewable legal status to DACA recipients rather than citizenship. It would authorize border wall funding, end family-based immigration, end the DV program, and require employers to use the E-Verify program.

Also, on February 13, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York became the second court to enjoin DACA rescission, with a nationwide preliminary injunction while lawsuits proceed. The court ordered the Trump administration to maintain the DACA program on the same terms and conditions that existed before President Trump terminated the program, subject to several limitations. For example, the administration need not consider new applications by individuals who have never before obtained DACA benefits; need not continue granting advance parole to DACA beneficiaries; and may adjudicate DACA renewal requests on a case-by-case basis.

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