Skip to main content

House GOP factions claim progress on immigration compromise

FILE - In this May 16, 2018 file photo, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has a light-hearted exchange with reporters at the start of a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. House GOP factions will meet with Ryan to try to resolve a looming immigration showdown. Ryan wants to halt legislation from centrists, and popular with Democrats, to provide young immigrants here illegally a path to legal status. WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Republican factions divided over immigration said Wednesday that they expect party leaders to present broad ideas for resolving the long-running dispute at a House GOP meeting Thursday. But there was no indication that a resolution to the party's civil war over the issue was at hand. If Republicans fail to reach a pact Thursday, that would give momentum to party moderates seeking to force election-year immigration votes that leaders are hoping to head off. The centrists favor legislation giving young "Dreamer" immigrants, who entered the U.S. illegally as children, a chance to earn citizenship. GOP leaders and conservatives say the moderates' effort would likely produce legislation that is too liberal, alienate Republican voters and be an election-year embarrassment for Republicans who mostly view the approach as amnesty. After a two-hour meeting Wednesday among party leaders and top moderates and conservatives, some lawmakers said they expected Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to present proposals when House Republicans hold a closed-door meeting Thursday. "I would say there's some loose consensus right now," said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., a leader of the centrists' effort to either strike a deal with conservatives or force immigration votes. He said he expected leaders to present "an outline of a potential bill" Thursday. Conservative Reps. Mark Walker, R-N.C., and Scott Perry, R-Pa., also said leaders could have a plan to present Thursday. The key dispute: Moderates are seeking a way to give legal status to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, while conservatives opposing granting them a special pathway to citizenship. Conservatives also want stricter immigration limits and enforcement, as well as funding for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the head of the conservative Freedom Caucus, emerged saying the closed-door talks were moving "forward, not backward." But he added, "We're still not in a situation where there's agreement." Ryan is taking on the daunting task of trying to craft an alternative that could win the support of conservatives. It's a tough sell ahead of a looming deadline for possible votes. Ryan exited the meeting declining comment, but said earlier he felt "good about the kind of conversations we're having." The policy and politics of the immigration standoff are complex, even more so in an election year when House control is at stake and the conservative and centrist factions in the House majority have different priorities as lawmakers campaign back home. Trump is staying out of the fray for now, leaving House Republicans on their own to try to resolve their differences. Centrist Republicans have pushed the issue forward by relying on an unusual process to collect signatures from lawmakers on a so-called discharge petition. The group is a couple of signatures shy of forcing a vote on its preferred bill over leadership's objections. The centrists, whose elections in the fall could determine majority control of the House, are anxious to show voters back home that they have tried to resolve the uncertainty facing the young immigrants. They largely represent districts in California, Florida, New York and other states with larger immigrant populations than those of their conservative colleagues. Some face stiff challenges from Democratic candidates. Trump announced he would end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed nearly 700,000 young immigrants to obtain permits to work and temporarily stay in the U.S. But the program largely continues temporarily, pending an unresolved legal battle. Conservative Republicans, who hold influence as the biggest block in the House GOP majority, are opposed to any special path to legal status for the young people unless it comes with other measures they favor. They want to beef up border security, clamp down on workplace employment verification and impose fresh limits on legal immigration by family members. Some lawmakers want Trump to use his negotiating power to help strike a deal on legislation that he would sign. "We don't want to waste our time," said Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., who joined in the petition effort. "At the end of the day, he has to get involved." ___ Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LisaMascaro and Fram at https://twitter.com/asfram
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Security company in Bellevue vandalized

BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) - An Omaha home security company based out of Bellevue is using its own camera to help track down a thief who stole items from outside their building. Chris Malmberg, the owner of Omaha Security Systems Inc. says an unidentified man stole nearly $300 worth of landscaping Sunday night. "The motion sensors went off and I got a notification on my phone that he was there. We saw him take the plants, we watched him drive away and then immediately contacted police," said Malmberg. "He was real nervous, but he ended up stealing shrubbery, Hosta plants, I mean - never in my life have I ever known somebody to steal landscaping." Malmberg said the plants could be replaced, but what's frustrating is that this is one of several vandalism incidents his business has experienced since OSSI moved into the building near Jefferson and Mission Ave. "We've had vandalism, we've had items stolen, or attempted to be stolen, with the security that we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Study: Majority of U.S. Broadband Households Concerned About Security of IoT Devices

As Internet-connected devices become more ubiquitous, security and privacy concerns of end users are also on the rise. Simply installing security systems in smart homes is no longer enough. Security integrators must also consider bolstering cybersecurity measures when installing their systems. A recently released whitepaper from IoT research firm Parks Associates, titled “Residential Security and Encryption: Setting the Standard, Protecting Consumers,” reveals that 64% of U.S. broadband households are concerned about security and privacy when using their connected devices. Parks Associates also found that the majority of homeowners assume security integrators are addressing their cybersecurity concerns. In fact, a Parks Associates survey of U.S. security owners found 63% of professionally monitored subscribers believe the wireless signals from their system are encrypted, even though encryption is currently not the industry-wide standard. While the whitepaper outlines a few ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ring Alarm review: A great DIY home security system with the potential to become even better

Ring builds some of our favorite video doorbells and security camera/outdoor lighting mashups. Now the company—recently acquired by Amazon—is moving inside the home with a strong and inexpensive DIY home security system: Ring Alarm. It’s a fantastic product today, and Ring says it will only get better with time. Ring Alarm is positioned as a mainstream home security system, and while you won’t find a great deal of innovation here (there’s nothing like the Nest Detect sensor that comes with the much-more-expensive Nest Secure system , for example), it’s already equipped with everything it needs to grow into a comprehensive smart home system. Ring Alarm doesn’t support smart lighting controls, door locks, thermostats, garage-door openers, or other common smart home products today, and there’s a very short list of supported third-party products. But it lacks nothing needed to support those and similar devices down the road. And in an intervi...
Post a Comment
Read more