(Opinion) Senate Democrats shutdown the federal government over illegal immigration. We can debate the particulars of their motivations until we are blue in the face, but it was about 800,000 or 3.6 million illegal “children” aged 12 to 35. What exactly do Democrats want to do about this, that can actually pass? I have no idea, but they are sure they have the votes which, according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s spokesman, isn’t true:
“We have made no decisions or announcements on floor consideration of border security/DACA, and the Leader remains committed to the ongoing, bipartisan, bicameral negotiations.”
Why this matters: A narrative has been in place for a while that argued if they placed a bill for DACA on the House floor it would pass. Missing from those comments is what exactly is agreed to. Sure, there are different pieces of legislation that different numbers of legislators will support. Some will support work permits, but not citizenship, while others would consider that insufficient and wouldn’t vote for anything less than full voting rights. And what about the wall and some Republicans desires to limit legal immigration? These issues are hardly resolved, so let’s stop pretending the end of this government shutdown clears the way for a “comprehensive” immigration bill.
The details:
— President Obama created this crisis by declaring that young illegal aliens were eligible to stay in the country, without fear of deportation, without getting any legislation passed.
— President Trump, attempting to partially keep his campaign promise, declared an artificial deadline of March 5th for Congress to find a solution to this issue or he would end the program.
— Polling indicates that 70 percent of Americans support a DACA deal but the details, like requiring a border wall, divide that support.
— More recent polling shows that Americans do not agree with shutting down the government to force a deal on immigration.
Dale Jackson hosts a daily radio show from 7-11 a.m. on NewsTalk 770 AM/92.5 FM WVNN and a weekly television show, “Guerrilla Politics,” on WAAY-TV, both in North Alabama. Follow him @TheDaleJackson.
