GOP congressman from Colorado says he will try to force vote on DACA extension if the
GOP congressman from Colorado says he will try to force vote on DACA extension if there’s no solution by March 5
Mike Coffman first introduced his discharge petition in September
By Jesse Paul and Mark K. Matthews
PUBLISHED: February 23, 2018 at 1:29 pm | UPDATED: February 23, 2018 at 2:40 pm
U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman said Thursday he plans to revive an effort to force a vote in Congress to extend deportation protections for young immigrants in the country illegally if no other solution emerges before an upcoming deadline imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Aurora Republican last year floated the idea of a parliamentary maneuver that could lead to such a vote but backtracked a few days later and now says he would try again if federal lawmakers are unable to reach a deal by March 5.
Coffman said he would begin working next month to gather 218 signatures needed for a procedure called a discharge petition that would compel the U.S. House to consider his legislation, which would prohibit for three years the deportation of any immigrant enrolled in an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA.
"If we get past March 5th, sure,” Coffman said in an interview this week. “I mean, I have to work it. I’ll start working it on it March 5th.”
President Donald Trump last year announced he would end DACA on March 5, putting the pressure on Congress to remove the threat of deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants — more than 15,000 of whom are in Colorado.
Federal courts have ordered the president to continue the protections past that fast-arriving date, but it’s unclear for how long.
“I think people shouldn’t think that this deadline isn’t significant, isn’t real,” Coffman said. “I was in a town meeting on Sunday at a Catholic church in Aurora … and boy the anxiety levels of those young people, of those families over DACA.”
Coffman said immigration is a top priority of his when Congress returns to work next week. A spokesman said that he remains hopeful that an immigration agreement that includes DACA can be reached before March 5.
However, a congressional solution to DACA has been elusive, with lawmakers unable to reach an agreement with each other or with Trump about how to move forward.
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/02/2...on-vote-march/
