The “DACA Shutdown” ends in a promise to talk
Democratic legislators’ support for the funding bill that reopened the government on Monday was conditioned on a promise to hold a real debate about DACA.
Some however expressed quick skepticism that the uncooperative Republican majority would cotton to a substantive debate about immigration. California Democrat Kamala Harris withheld her vote stating “I don’t believe [Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell] made any commitment whatsoever” on immigration adding it would be “foolhardy” to believe otherwise.
As the lawmakers engage political theatre on the issue, there are about 122 immigrants who lose their DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) protections every day due to processing delays, according to the Center for American Progress.
The shutdown brings a close to a chapter in the bargaining process where progressive lawmakers appeared ready to offer a range of concessions to Congress’ border hawks—including increased resources for Border Patrol and even funding for the $1.2 billion border wall that Donald Trump campaigned on—in exchange for permanent DACA protections and increased access for foreign nationals from other countries who hope to immigrate to the U.S. The demand was met with a now-infamous remark from Trump in which he asked out loud why the U.S. would want people from these “shithole” countries, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.
About 80 percent of Americans surveyed support a deal to codify the deportation protections.
There are 800,000 young immigrants who currently have DACA protection. The Trump administration wishes to have the program cancelled in March. A district court ruling in January forced U.S. Customs and Immigration Services to begin again accepting requests to renew the protections, but the administration has appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Activists involved in the DACA effort expressed disappointment at the Democrats’ effort and ultimate signing off of a bill to reopen the government absent a permanent solution for these immigrants. "Trump and Republicans in Congress stood with their anti-immigrant nativist base, and too many Democrats backed down, abandoned Dreamers, and failed to fight for their values,” MoveOn.org said in a statement.
