DEMS/DREAMERS/GOP/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Republicans edged closer Tuesday [6-5-18] to forcing a series of immigration votes, as some Democratic lawmakers who held out over policy and political concerns signed on to the effort. On Tuesday, two Democratic holdouts, Texas Reps. Filemon Vela and Vicente Gonzalez, announced they would sign, leaving three signatures needed to force a vote using a procedural tool called a discharge petition to circumvent House GOP leaders and compel votes on four immigration measures on the House floor. In all, 23 House Republicans and 192 Democrats—all but Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar—have signed onto the bipartisan immigration push. The petition would set up votes on four immigration proposals, some of which contain border-security funding. Under the procedural maneuver, the plan with the most votes over 218 would pass. As the petition nears the threshold, some Democrats are openly worrying they may be handing vulnerable Republicans a win ahead of the midterm election…Mr. Vela held out for weeks, saying he didn’t want to trade funding a border wall that President Donald Trump wants for helping undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children, sometimes called Dreamers. Mr. Trump wants the two tied together, along with other steps to tighten immigration rules.”
-Natalie Andrews, “House Nears Threshold of Support Needed to Force Immigration Votes,” The Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2018 3:20 pm