DREAMERS/IMMIGRATION/POLITICS: “Concern is growing in both parties that a clash over the fate of Dreamers will trigger a government shutdown this December.
House conservatives have warned Speaker Paul Ryan against lumping a fix for undocumented immigrants who came to the country as minors into a year-end spending deal. They want him to keep the two issues separate and delay immigration negotiations into 2018 to increase their leverage — which both Ryan and the White House consider reasonable.
But many liberal Democrats have already vowed to withhold votes from the spending bill should it not address Dreamers, putting Democratic leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York in an awkward spot if they don’t go along…
Ryan told reporters in early November that there was no need to address DACA by year’s end because the program expires in March under President Donald Trump’s orders…
But privately, both sides are worried — fearful of either enraging the party’s base or getting punished at the polls for a government shutdown.”
-Rachel Bade and Heather Caygle, “Congress speeds toward shutdown over Dreamers,” Politico, Nov. 21, 2017 05:07am