Immigration issues seem set to
get renewed public attention next month. Ten rightwing state governments are
suing to end DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the popular program
that grants temporary protection from deportation to about 800,000 younger
immigrants), and Trump is threatening a government shutdown if Congress doesn’t
approve funding for his border wall. Meanwhile, there are reports that Trump’s
new chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly, is planning to push Congress for a “grand
bargain” immigration bill which would shield DACA recipients while stepping up
detentions and deportations, funding some type of “wall” (mostly through still
more border enforcement), requiring that all employers use E-Verify, and
cutting legal immigration in line with the RAISE
Act proposal that Trump was promoting earlier this month.
If true, this seems like a
classic divide-and-conquer strategy, intended to set DACA recipients against
supporters of broader rights for immigrants. The approach is unlikely to work
with most immigrant activists, but there’s the danger that it might appeal to a
number of centrist Democrats. What’s certain is that any “grand bargain”
approach would probably bring immigration back into the center of public
debate, and we can expect a barrage of false information about immigrants. Will
immigrant rights supporters be prepared to fight the propaganda with real facts
and analysis and to answer the Trump agenda with a program that’s both humane
and realistic?—TPOI editor
Trump under the gun as Dreamers
deadline looms
The president must decide
whether to side with his conservative base or young undocumented immigrants.
By Seung Min Kim, Politico
August 23, 2017
President Donald Trump has been
unusually cautious about his plans for so-called Dreamers, but he’s running out
of time to make up his mind.
Ten conservative states have
threatened to sue the administration in order to kill off the Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals program, a 2012 initiative that has granted work permits
to nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants. They’re trying to replicate
their legal tactic from more than two years ago, when a broader coalition of
GOP-led states successfully stopped a more expansive program for millions of
undocumented immigrants before it even began.[…]
Read the full article:
Shutdown threat grows as Trump
digs in on wall
The fight over the border wall
is likely to explode in September.
By Josh Dawsey, Politico
August 23, 2017
President Donald Trump’s vow
Tuesday to close down the government if he doesn’t get money for the border
wall mirrors private comments he has made to advisers in recent days — and
could cause significant rifts within his own party if he follows through.
The fight over the wall is likely
to explode in September as the administration wrangles over a new budget, an
increase in the debt ceiling, the beginning of a tax reform package and a
possible resuscitation of health care legislation.[…]
Read the full article:
Congress was preparing for some
immigration skirmishes. Trump wants a battle royal.
The administration’s
threatening shutdowns and floating “grand bargains.” Here’s what Congress
actually wants.
By Dara Lind, Vox
August 23, 2017
The Trump administration has been
active in changing immigration policy through the executive branch, but it’s
turning its sights toward Congress.
President Donald Trump himself is
already in demand-making mode: On Tuesday, he threatened a government shutdown
at the end of September if he hasn’t gotten money for his border wall (which
Congress was unwilling to give him in April).
But as big an ask as that might
be, the White House’s expectations for Congress are actually much, much higher
than that — much to Congress’s chagrin.
A new report by
McClatchy’s
Anita Kumar suggests several key Trump advisers, including Chief of Staff
John Kelly, are hoping for a “grand bargain” on immigration.[…]
Read the full article:
