Border Hawks Scoff at Durbin’s ‘Compromise’ on DACA
Border Hawks Scoff at Durbin’s ‘Compromise’ on DACA
Democrat DREAM Act sponsor from Illinois hopes opponents accept token provisions of proposed immigration security law
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Updated 23 Dec 2017 at 10:24 AM
A document described as Sen. Richard Durbin’s compromise offer to immigration hard-liners as part of an amnesty deal for illegal immigrants brought to America as children demonstrates one of two possibilities.
Either the Democratic senator from Illinois and his allies are lowballing Republicans as a negotiating tactic — or they think they can win legal status for beneficiaries of the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program without offering major concessions.
That is the view of immigration experts who favor tougher enforcement of illegal migration.
"He's not offering much, is he?" said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. "This, to me, looks like Durbin is not really inclined to compromise."
Durbin is the longtime co-sponsor of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would give permanent residency to some two million illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before the age of 18 and who can meet certain other conditions.
He has pushed the bill since 2001, but it picked up new momentum after President Donald Trump announced in September that he was ending the more limited DACA program, created by executive action during Barack Obama's Oval Office tenure.
The document reportedly prepared by Durbin's office contains a summary of the Building America's Trust Act, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), with sections that Durbin would accept highlighted in yellow.
It includes items such as completing a threat analysis of the southern border and upgrading the U.S. Border Patrol's most forward operating bases. But it does not accept provisions such as beefing up physical barriers along the border or allowing the deployment of National Guard units to assist Border Patrol agents.
It accepts hiring more Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, but not more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, who are responsible for interior immigration enforcement.
It accepts installing biometric technology and license plate readers at U.S. ports of entry, but not a border security development program.
"License plate readers," mocked Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "It's ludicrous what they're trying to pass off as painful concessions here."
"License plate readers," mocked Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "It's ludicrous what they're trying to pass off as painful concessions here."
Vaughan said Durbin's offer is stunning since it only partially accepts immigration enforcement legislation that "itself is not all that tough."
She said Cornyn's bill does nothing to address the broken asylum system and the flood of unaccompanied minors who regularly arrive from Central America. It also does nothing to encourage more enforcement operations targeting businesses that hire illegal immigrants or "sanctuary" jurisdictions, she added.
"They're not as complete as what the House passed," she said.
And Cornyn's bill does not cover a host of other immigration priorities that Trump has demanded in exchange for legislation along the lines of the DREAM Act. The president, for instance, has called for curtailing family-sponsored immigration and a switch to a merit-based immigration system envisioned by the proposed Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act.
"That's not going to be close to acceptable," said Vaughn, referring to Durbin's concessions.
The fate of DACA is uncertain. Congress finished work for the year this week by passing a short-term funding measure that did not include legal status for DREAMers. The program does not actually end until March, however, and the issue is sure to return when lawmakers do in January.
David Cross, a spokesman for Oregonians for Immigration Reform, said he doubts Durbin will get away with a DACA amnesty with the meager concessions he so far has offered.
"I don't think it's a starter," he said. "Trump came out with what he wants, and if it's anything less than that, I don't think it's going to happen … I'm hoping that's not the case."
As for Durbin and the Democrats, Mehlman said, the compromise offer shows the party does not even rhetorically support border security anymore.
"They've dropped any pretense of enforcement now," he said.
https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/...omise-on-daca/
Uh-Oh! Budget Agency Sees DREAM Act Adding $26 Billion to Deficit
Uh-Oh! Budget Agency Sees DREAM Act Adding $26 Billion to Deficit
Congressional Budget Office projects immigrant amnesty would balloon the federal shortfall over 10 years
Updated 16 Dec 2017 at 7:45 PM
Granting legal status to young illegal immigrants under the DREAM Act would add $25.9 billion to the deficit over the next 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported on Friday.
The extra burden on taxpayers mainly is due to increased health insurance costs and spending associated with programs that benefit the working poor. The report adds kindling to the brewing fire about what to do about the people currently enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was created during former President Barack Obama’s administration.
The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act would grant legal status to those recipients — brought to the United States by their parents when they were younger than 16 — along with to a broader group of illegal immigrants who did not qualify for DACA.
DACA opponents seized on the report as one more reason not to codify what they consider an amnesty into law.
“It really flies in the face of the argument that more immigration expands the economy and everything gets better,” said Chris Chmielenski, director of content and activism at NumbersUSA.
Advocates of the DREAM Act largely ignored the report, however.
“We cannot wait until March,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) tweeted. “The #DREAMAct and protections of #DACA are not light switches we can turn on and off.”
A group of environmental organizations also signed a letter Friday urging passage. “Dreamers are scientists, scholars, lawyers, doctors, advocates, artists, and so much more,” the letter states. “Many have contributed immeasurably to our country, its institutions and communities, and its movements — including the environmental movement.”
About 690,000 people are enrolled in DACA, which President Donald Trump said in March he would wind down. The CBO estimates that 2 million illegal immigrants would gain legal status from the DREAM Act.
DREAM Act Costs
| Projected costs of DREAM Act 2018-2027 |
|---|
|
| Program |
Cost |
|---|
| Insurance |
$11.795 billion |
| EITC/child credits |
$5.455 billion |
| Medicaid |
$5.020 billion |
| SNAP |
$2.3 billion |
| SSI |
$920 million |
| Social Security |
$550 million |
| Medicare |
$285 million |
| Higher ed assistance |
$480 million |
|
| Additional revenue |
|---|
| DHS fees |
$10 million |
Source: Congressional Budget Office
Attaining legal status would make beneficiaries eligible for a full range of government assistance programs from which they currently are barred. The biggest expense would be health insurance subsidies under Obamacare. The increased costs through 2027 would total $11.795 billion, according to the report.
Spending on the earned income and child tax credits would total about $5.5 billion, while Medicaid spending would increase by $5 billion, according to the budget office.
Other costs are due to use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), the Supplemental Security Income program, Social Security, Medicare, and higher education assistance.
Against all that increased spending, the budget office projects, the Department of Homeland Security would collect about $4 billion in fees — about $10 million more than the costs of implementing the DREAM Act.
The CBO also anticipates that increased reporting of income by people newly authorized to work would modestly boost revenue. The budget office projects that the federal government would collect $700 million in penalties from beneficiaries who choose not to comply with the Obamacare mandate to buy health insurance, although the GOP tax plan headed toward final passage would eliminate that penalty.
The forecasters also anticipate that most revenue gains from increased reporting of income would be offset by increases in deductions by employers that would allow them to report lower profits.
Immigration hardliners have expressed skepticism over how aggressively that rule would be enforced, particularly if future administrations take a softer view than Trump.
The budget office estimates that the 2 million dreamers would sponsor some 80,000 relatives — virtually all of whom already are in the U.S. — for green cards during the 10-year period.
The forecasters conclude that the number of green cards awarded to immediate family members would be limited by a law requiring illegal immigrants to return to their home countries for 10 years before becoming eligible for legal immigration.
Immigration hardliners have expressed skepticism over how aggressively that rule would be enforced, particularly if future administrations take a softer view than Trump does.
“I think it probably underestimates the cost,” said Matthew O’Brien, director of research at the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
While Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have been pushing for a “clean” DREAM Act, or something closely resembling it, opponents have urged lawmakers to demand significant concessions in exchange for any amnesty.
Trump has demanded an end to the diversity visa lottery, which awards about 50,000 green cards to applicants chosen at random from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the U.S. He also wants significant restrictions on “chain migration” and other provisions of the proposed Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act.
Other advocates have lobbied for making the authorization background checks known as E-Verify mandatory for all businesses and increased border security measures.
“If they’re going to do that, they need to get at the very least the RAISE Act, E-Verify, and the border wall,” O’Brien said.
https://www.lifezette.com/polizette/...on-to-deficit/
