Thread: Rep. Brad Schneider says he can't promise a 'when' on immigration reform, but he'll k

(Excuse me is posted previously)

Rep. Brad Schneider says he can't promise a 'when' on immigration reform, but he'll keep pushing


February 22, 2019

Emily K. Coleman



When is immigration reform actually going to happen? What legislation is actually in the works?



Those are the questions one man had for U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Deerfield, Friday afternoon at a roundtable discussion on immigration and access to education in Waukegan, the last in a series of forums held by across Schneider’s congressional district on topics like guns and climate change.



“Last year, when everybody was like, ‘Well, wait for the midterms,’ the midterms came, and nothing happened,” said the man, who declined to identify himself. “What now? Are we going to wait for the next election to do something about it?


“Honestly, all I hear are excuses from both sides of the aisle.”

The answer wasn’t what the man was hoping to hear: Schneider said he knows legislation will happen, but he can’t promise when.


According to Schneider, several pieces of legislation — some more targeted at groups like those with Deferred Acton for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status and something more comprehensive — are in the works.


Schneider said his approach is a “looking forward” one that aims to find a solution that gives the 11 million to 13 million people living in the U.S. without documentation a permanent legal status.


He added Congress also needs to look at residents with temporary protected status, granted originally after a natural disaster like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti or ongoing conflicts in places like Yemen. President Donald Trump has been rolling back these protections for some groups.


Mary Elena Jones, the executive director of the Waukegan-based nonprofit Hispanic Immigrant Community and Education Services, or HACES, said she’s been advocating for changes to immigration law for 40 years.


Mary Elena Jones, executive director of the Waukegan-based nonprofit Hispanic Immigrant Community and Education Services, speaks during a roundtable on immigration and access to education Feb. 22 at the Community Center in Waukegan. (Emily K. Coleman/ews-Sun)




Jones, who was one of four panelists who spoke at Friday’s roundtable, told the audience the community needs to prepare for the next election.


“We want the whole enchilada,” Jones said. “We just don’t want DACA. We want beyond DACA because what’s going to happen with parents, with the grandmas.”


What’s being discussed sounded like amnesty to at least one audience member.


“That’s not what I said,” Schneider said.


“Who said amnesty?” another audience member said.
“Your implication was amnesty,” the man said. “That’s what I heard, but I’ve been listening very closely.”


Schneider said his solution would include a way to set those who either entered the country illegally or overstayed a visa “right with the law,” perhaps through a penalty or requiring them to pay back taxes.


“I have no problem with that,” the man said. “The way it’s being presented, perhaps not by you but your constituents, is amnesty. That I have a problem with.”


“I hear you and I appreciate that,” Schneider said. “But I think we can find a path that brings everyone together and works for the betterment of our country as a whole.”


Schneider said he’s confident the House, with its Democratic majorities, will pass something. But that won’t make it law, he said.


To overcome the next obstacles — approval in the Senate followed by either a presidential signature or a veto override — Schneider said “we have to pound through that” by passing bills in the House and challenging the Senate to vote on the bill or present an alternative.


“We shouldn’t be waiting,” Schneider said. “We’ve been disappointed before. My disappointment is as a legislator and knowing what’s right. I can only begin to emphasize with the disappointment of the community that’s facing this.”


He said the process sometimes feels like pushing a stone up a hill only to have it roll back down.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...story,amp.html

Breaking: Democrats & Kushner moving on next mass Amnesty bill March 12


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