There's little doubt that the issue of immigration will be on the minds of voters throughout next year's presidential elections. That's why I was somewhat surprised at how little time ABC dedicated to the issue during last night's third Democratic Presidential debate. But here's a recap of what each candidate said . . .
Today, in response to House Democrats' planned vote to grant Venezuelans eligibility for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Congressman Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced the "TPS Reform Act" (H.R. 3899). This legislation would:
The House of Representatives blocked passage of H.R. 549 -- a bill to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to illegal aliens from Venezuela -- on Tuesday. House Leadership attempted to pass the bill under suspension of the rules, meaning it would bypass regular House order. But to do so, the bill would need to receive support from at least two-thirds of the House. While the bill received more votes than a simple majority, 268-to-154, it fell short of the two-thirds threshold.
The moderators of last night's Democratic primary debate missed numerous opportunities to press the candidates on what they would do to address the incentives and loopholes at the heart of the border crisis. In that sense, the debate last night reflected the ongoing failure of the political elite to stop the surge of children and families that began more than five years ago.
Last night, President Trump officially launched his re-election campaign in Orlando Fla. to a stadium filled to the brim with nearly 25,000 spectators. President Trump told his supporters that Democrat calls for amnesty for illegal aliens, an open border, and a never-ending flow of cheaper, foreign workers to compete against Americans is the "greatest betrayal" to the working and middle class.
During his hearing on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Acting Director of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, told Senator Graham (R - S.C.) that if the 2013 Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, S. 744, also known as the Gang of Eight Bill had passed, many of today's border security hurdles would be moot.
The House of Representatives passed a mass amnesty bill on Tuesday evening, H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act, that would grant lifetime work permits to approximately 3.5 million illegal aliens who claim that they entered the country under the age of 18 and meet certain other conditions and to approximately 450,000 foreign citizens (mostly illegal aliens) whose countries have been given Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Just days after the Trump Administration petitioned the Supreme Court to fast track a case involving the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty, the justices turned down the request without comment. The high court could still take up the case in 2020 after a lower court rules or could consider related cases on appeal.
The Trump Administration has filed a briefing with the Supreme Court, urging the high court to quickly decide if it will hear arguments on the legal challenges to Pres. Trump's decision to end the Obama-era executive DACA amnesty that has given work permits to approximately 900,000 illegal aliens. The briefing asked the Court if it would decide before the end of the month, which marks the end of the current session, if it would hear arguments in the fall.