Republicans represent 23 congressional districts that Democrat Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Thirteen of those Republicans are banding together to push their own plan to force action on immigration.
It’s probably going nowhere, meaning the plan’s purpose is to help protect these vulnerable GOP lawmakers politically as Republicans and Democrats remain stuck over how to tackle immigration issues.
Darrell West, vice president of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank, said Republicans are simply giving themselves political cover.
“They can say they made an effort, then blame Congress as a whole for not taking action,” West said.
The vulnerable Republicans’ plan, introduced by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., with 38 other Republicans Monday, would have the House consider a series of immigration bills.
Two of the bills – the DREAM Act and the USA Act – have been backed by both Democrats and Republicans.
The USA Act provides a path to legal citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients while also providing more for immigration enforcement policies. The DREAM Act provides a path to legal citizenship without increased immigration enforcement.
DACA is an Obama-era program that allows people who entered the country illegally as minors to remain, work and study in the country legally. President Donald Trump announced plans to phase out the program in September.
He gave Congress a March 5 deadline to pass legislation aimed at resolving the issue, but court rulings have continued the young immigrants’ protected status for now.
The Securing America’s Future Act has no Democratic cosponsors and includes border wall funding, significant cuts to paths to legal immigration and no pathway to permanent citizenship for DACA recipients.
Under House rules, whichever bill wins a majority and receives the highest number of votes in the package would be considered passed and move on to the Senate.
“We have several viable solutions stuck in committee, unable to advance for debate and amendment,” Denham said. “The gridlock simply cannot continue.”
Sponsors in Clinton-won districts include Denham, Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Will Hurd, R-Texas, Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Stephen Knight, R-Calif. Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., also signed on but are retiring in 2018.
Many also have large Latino populations. Denham’s district is 40 percent Latino, Valadao’s is 71 percent and Curbelo’s is 74 percent.
The White House and Democrats have been trying, unsuccessfully, to find common ground. The effort by the vulnerable Republicans to use little-known actions to force their own leadership to consider immigration legislation is yet another indicator of the ongoing deadlock.
“Quite frankly, we now are in a situation where leadership is going to have to show leadership and do that which has not been happening on immigration,” Issa said. “And my guess is leadership likes what’s not happening. I hope I’m wrong.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office did not return a request for comment.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said there “might be an opportunity” with that proposal, but still didn’t see reasons for Democrats to cooperate.
“There’s not a whole lot of reasons to negotiate, to do anything that is not already covered by the court decision,” Pelosi said, referencing a ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that allow new DACA applications to be accepted indefinitely.
“I mean, should we give a border wall for nothing? No, I don’t think so,” she added.
Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said Republicans did not have the votes needed without Democrats, and Democrats were unlikely to make a push right now.
He cited past failures, including the government shutdown stemming from a Democratic push for DACA action in January and an unwillingness to act when the courts had given “some breathing room, probably nine to 12 months.”
McClatchy Washington Bureau reporter Lesley Clark contributed to this report.
Kate Irby: 202-383-6071, @kateirby