US Senate has rejected a move to help young “Dreamer” immigrants and get the necessary funding for the border wall with Mexico, as Republican leaders joined with the White House and scuttled what seemed the likeliest chance for sweeping immigration legislation this election year.
The vote came after the White House threatened to veto the measure and underscored that the issue, a hot button for both parties, remained as intractable as it’s been for years. Even the focus on Dreamers, who polls show win wide public support, was not enough to overcome opposition by hard-line conservatives and liberal Democratic presidential hopefuls — neither of whom want to alienate their parties’ base voters as the mid-term elections draw closer.
The vote was 54-45 in favor, but that was short of the 60 that were needed for approval. Eight Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while three Democrats abandoned their own leaders and opposed it.
Dreamers are young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, they also lack protection from being deported and often do not have the access to go to school or access health care.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, touted Democrats for failing to offer “a single proposal that gives us a realistic chance to make law.” Instead, he said, Democrats should back Trump’s “extremely generous” proposal.
For a deal to be brokered, the Trump administration would offer 1.8 million Dreamers a 10- to 12-year process for gaining citizenship, provide $25 billion to build his coveted U.S.-Mexico border wall and restrict legal immigration.
Instead, Democratic leaders rallied behind a bipartisan plan that would also give 1.8 million Dreamers a chance for citizenship. But while it would provide the $25 billion Trump wants for his wall, it would dole it out over 10 years and lacks most of the limits Trump is seeking on legal immigration.
