New York Times
By Ashley Parker
July 29, 2014
WASHINGTON
— House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled their plan to stem the surge of
undocumented child migrants from Central America at the southern
border, proposing to
spend $659 million — well short of the $3.7 billion President Obama
seeks — to ease the humanitarian crisis after weeks of internal
divisions and just days before Congress adjourns for its five-week
August break.
The
legislation, on which Republicans hope to hold a vote on Thursday,
comes in response to Mr. Obama’s request this month for emergency
supplemental funds to address
the situation at the border, and it would also allocate far less than
the Senate Democrats’ $2.7 billion plan.
The
bill is largely intended to help Republicans save political face before
returning home for the recess. “Frankly, we need to show that we can
act and act thoughtfully,
responsibly and quickly, and frankly clean up the mess that the
administration has created,” said Representative Tom Cole, Republican of
Oklahoma.
If
the House passes its bill, some Senate Democrats are considering
attaching a broad bipartisan immigration bill, which passed the Senate
in June 2013 and includes a
path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the
country, to the package and sending it back to the House.
Such
a move would inflame tensions among Republicans who are already
distrustful of Mr. Obama and the Senate, and could make it all but
impossible for the House Republican
leadership to rally its conference to support even modest changes to
help at the border.
“Senate
Democrats are open to conferencing the House package with the
bipartisan, comprehensive reform bill that passed the Senate last year,”
said a senior Democratic
aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a delicate
topic.
It
is unlikely that Democrats would be able to pass such a measure, and
not even Republicans who had supported an immigration overhaul would be
likely to vote for it.
At
its core, the Republican plan would change a 2008 law intended to
combat human trafficking, allowing the authorities to more quickly
deport the Central American children
to their home countries. The legislation, which would provide funding
through the 2014 fiscal year at the end of September, also calls for
increasing the National Guard presence at the southern border,
increasing the number of immigration judges in order to
expedite court proceedings, and allowing the Border Patrol onto
national park and monument land along the border.
Speaker
John A. Boehner had acknowledged that Republicans could pay a hefty
political price if they returned to their districts in August without
having at least put forth
their own alternative to handle the crisis at the border. The final
bill that Republicans proposed is lower than their initial plan of about
$1.5 billion. “I think there’s sufficient support in the House to move
this bill,” Mr. Boehner said. “I think we should
do something before we go home, and we’re working to get there.”
But
Representative Mo Brooks, Republican of Alabama, was among those wary
of the plan. “As of right now, I’m not going to support it unless I have
assurances that if it
comes back from the Senate, we will not consider it unless it is
actually going to address the border issue in a constructive way, and
amnesty and open borders is not a constructive way,” he said. “To me,
the laws that are on the books are already adequate.
What we need is a president who will obey them. It really is that
simple.”
Mr.
Boehner may need to pick up at least a few Democratic votes to pass his
bill, but both Senate and House Democrats are increasingly opposed to
any changes to the 2008
law. The Senate bill does not make any changes to the 2008 law.
But as of Tuesday morning, many Republicans were rallying behind their leadership’s proposal.
“I
think it will pass with almost all of the Republicans, and I think the
Democrats don’t want to go home and face their constituents not having
dealt with this,” said
Representative Blake Farenthold, Republican of Texas.
Other
Republicans have called on Mr. Boehner to hold a separate vote to peel
back Mr. Obama’s 2012 executive order that allows the young undocumented
immigrants known
as “Dreamers” to remain in the country without the threat of
deportation. Such a vote is unlikely before the recess — something
Representative Bill Flores, Republican of Texas, called “one area of
disappointment that I have.”
“I
keep pressing our leadership to at least have a separate vote on that,
so we can let the American people know where we stand on the president’s
overreach,” Mr. Flores
said. “They’ve been mum about it.”
Mr.
Flores will, however, support the final bill, he said. “Again, I think
the president created this mess, so I don’t think we necessarily have to
clean it up, but on
the other hand I think politically it would have been difficult to
leave it out there,” he said.
Immigration
advocates were quick to criticize the Republican plan. Ali Noorani, the
executive director of the National Immigration Forum, warned that “half
a loaf may
actually be worse than no loaf at all.”
“What
this crisis needs is policy that aligns with our better nature and
responds to children and families compassionately,” he said. “This bill
would reduce protections
for vulnerable people fleeing desperate circumstances. Rather than meet
them with open hearts and a clear, fair process, this bill meets them
with National Guard troops.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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