McCain says he supports effort to force immigration bill to House floor

By Clare Foran, CNN
Updated 5:16 PM ET, Sat June 2, 2018

Washington (CNN)Sen. John McCain said Saturday that he supports an effort in the House of Representatives to force a vote on an immigration bill.

"I strongly support the bipartisan effort in the House to file a discharge petition to reopen the debate on immigration reform and bring up our #USAAct for a vote," the Arizona Republican wrote in a tweet.

John McCain

✔@SenJohnMcCain

I strongly support the bipartisan effort in the House to file a discharge petition to reopen the debate on immigration reform and bring up our #USAAct for a vote. Congress can’t ignore this critical issue - and the many lives it impacts - any longer.

11:23 AM - Jun 2, 2018


A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Republican Reps. Will Hurd of Texas, Jeff Denham of California and and Carlos Curbelo of Florida, introduced the Uniting and Securing America Act in January. The bill would shield undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children who have been protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program from deportation.

McCain introduced a companion version of the bill in the Senate in February. The legislation also calls for additional security measures at the US-Mexico border.

A petition to force a floor vote on immigration proposals has been circulating in the House of Representatives and requires 218 signatures to advance. As of May 24, 23 Republican lawmakers and 190 Democrats had signed the petition.

McCain, who is battling brain cancer at home in Arizona, criticized President Donald Trump last year when the administration announced that it would move to end DACA.

"President Trump's decision to eliminate DACA is the wrong approach to immigration policy at a time when both sides of the aisle need to come together to reform our broken immigration system and secure the border," McCain said at the time.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/02/polit...aca/index.html