Illinois Business Group Advocates for "Dreamers"
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SWEET: Illinois business group steps up fight for ‘Dreamers’
Among those who met with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., at the northwest suburban Chicago Executive Airport to discuss immigration were the co-chairs of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition: Republicans John Rowe, the chairman emeritus of the Exelon Corporation, and Bill Kunkler, the executive vice president of CC Industries. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
WASHINGTON — A few weeks ago, at a private airport hangar in Wheeling, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., met the top Illinois Republican business executives who have been pressing for immigration reform — and now urgently want Congress to approve protections for “Dreamers,” brought to the U.S. illegally as youths — and threatened by President Donald Trump.
Trump ordered an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, created by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and nicknamed DACA, tossing the fate of 42,000 DACA recipients in Illinois — about 790,000 nationally in all — to Congress, with only a few months of a grace period left to act.
Among those Ryan met with at the northwest suburban Chicago Executive Airport to discussion immigration — I still call it by its old name, Pal-Waukee — were the co-chairs of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition: Republicans John Rowe, the chairman emeritus of the Exelon Corporation, and Bill Kunkler, the executive vice president of CC Industries.
The IBIC sent a letter Wednesday to the Illinois Congressional Delegation signed by a who’s who of corporate Illinois — both Democrats and Republicans, plus university presidents, smaller business and trade groups, and immigration related nonprofits — more than 100 signers in all — urging Congress to pass a “legislative solution.”
“Your leadership is needed more than ever and we are ready to work with you,” the letter said.
This latest outreach is really to the Republican members of the Illinois delegation, since all the Illinois Democrats are a solid yes on when it comes to DACA. The only GOP House member from Illinois who has stuck his neck out on immigration issues is Rep. Adam Kinzinger.
What’s worth paying attention for House Republicans, the names in particular of two CEO’s who have newly signed on to the cause:
• David MacNeil, the founder and CEO of WeatherTech, headquartered in Bolingbrook, a major south suburban employer. MacNeil, through his MacNeil Automotive, donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. MacNeil also donated $260,000 to GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s campaign in 2014, and lent him the use of his aircraft.
• Martin Slark, the CEO and vice chairman of Molex, based in Lisle, a company affiliated with the Koch brothers, Republican mega-donors, who have been very open to working to find immigration solutions, despite their hard-line reputations on other issues. Slark is a member of the Koch Industries Inc. board.
The IBIC is still taking names.
On Wednesday morning, at a “newsmaker” event hosted by Reuters, Ryan was asked about DACA.
With Obama’s DACA program set to end in March, there is urgency to act.
Ryan was asked if Congress would consider DACA-related legislation this year.
“I don’t know when we’re going to do it. We’re having lots of discussions on how to do it, and the timing is something that’s just open to debate.”
“I want to do it,” Ryan said. “The goal is we want to fix this and we’re working on it, and we want to make sure that we do it in such a way that we don’t have the same problem down the road — that means border security and interior enforcement.”
Now Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have a stand-alone DACA bill, but it’s a very, very long shot GOP leaders who control the House and Senate would allow a vote on a stand-alone measure.
On Wednesday, Trump, who signed the order ending DACA, was looking at keeping it, with the Dreamers a bargaining chit.
Said Trump: “We’re looking at DACA. We have to get something for it, but we are looking at DACA. And we’ll see what happens. I would love to do a DACA deal, but we have to get something very substantial for it.”
