DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “With the clock ticking and so-called Dreamers in limbo, Senate Republicans signaled Thursday [11-2-17] they are in no hurry ahead of a March deadline to pass legislation giving legal protections to young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Democrats and their allies have been laying the groundwork to try to include these protections in a year-end spending bill, a moment when their votes will be needed and they will have power to make demands. These must-pass bills are often used as a vehicle to push through contentious legislation while minimizing political fallout.
But on Thursday, a group of Senate Republicans met on the issue with President Donald Trump and some of them emerged to say that they don’t want to include the issue in the spending bill, which lawmakers must pass to keep the government running. Rather, they suggested punting the matter into next year, giving lawmakers a tight time frame ahead of the expiration of the Obama-era program in March.
This group of young immigrants is now protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which Mr. Trump acted in September to end, announcing a six-month wind-down period.”
-Laura Meckler and Byron Tau, “Republicans Won’t Include DACA in Year-End Spending Bill,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 2, 2017 07:17pm