The Senate Rejected Trump's Immigration Plan

This Thursday, the Senate rejected immigration legislation that was based around the framework handed down from the White House. This rejection leaves open the question on what to do with the nearly one-million DACA recipients protected under the Obama-era program.The vote needed a super-majority of 60 votes to pass.

The provisions in the plan would have provided a pathway to citizenship for over one-million immigrants that were brought into the United States as children, as well as funding for the border wall. The DACA program is set to expire in March, putting those in the program in danger of deportation.

Democrats largely opposed the plans offered up today, stating that the limits on legal immigration and the ending of the Diversity Visa Lottery were something they could not accept on any grounds.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) noted that the president was the one standing in the way of progress on immigration. He told reporters that "President Trump, since he created this problem by terminating DACA last August, has stood in the way of every single proposal that has had a chance to become law"

The plan that was pushed by Trump (one of four voted on) was the least effective of the lot, with 14 Senate Republicans voting against it. Many of the GOP members that voted against Trump's own included a number of Republican leaders.

Congress now has until March 5th to get something done regarding DACA. It should be noted that several court battles have placed that date into question. This current failure is only the latest in a string of failed measures by Congress to address the immigration issue.

Source(s): The Hill, Reuters

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