A Bridge Too Far

In his column in the Washington Post Greg Sargent laments the failure of the bipartisan compromise bill on immigration:

For a fleeting moment this month, a deal to protect 2 million “dreamers” and rationalize our asylum system appeared within reach. Two senators with a history of bipartisan compromises were earnestly haggling over details. Much of the bill text was written. The talks were endorsed by influential right-leaning opinion-makers, and even encouraged by the conservative Border Patrol union.

But now the framework that Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) were negotiating appears dead. Democratic leaders have privately informed numerous stakeholders that it isn’t going to happen in the current Congress because of Republican opposition, according to sources familiar with the discussions. At least one GOP leader has declared the same.

I don’t know precisely why the bill failed. One of the things I’ve heard is that the bill included language that would have effectively normalized the immigration status of not just Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA AKA “Dreamers”) but of their parents and others here illegally, generally characterized as “amnesty”.

I firmly believe in the provisions of the DREAM Act applied to those brought here as children. I also believe in enforcing whatever provisions are imposed in such legislation, which is something of a sticking point, too. I suspect that were a bill to be drafted that applied solely to “Dreamers” it could pass. Trying to grab more is simply too much.