The government has been shut down again. President Trump calls it the Schumer Shutdown. He says the Senate Minority Leader is holding the current budget resolution hostage until Republicans give amnesty to DACA immigrants. Is that a fair statement?
DACA Enrollees Are Not Children…
DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – was President Obama’s program giving temporary legal status to immigrants who entered the country illegally as minor children. Obama created the program by executive order after Congress refused to pass an immigration bill. Illegal immigrants enrolled in DACA received a renewable two year protection from deportation, and work permits.
The majority of enrollees are now between 18 and 36 years old. Many of their contemporaries are serving in the armed forces.
Supporters of DACA refer to enrollees as children, but most of them are no longer minors. The age restrictions for the program were: first, they had to be under 31 years of age in 2012. Second, they had to be at least 15 to apply, since the purpose of the program was to provide a temporary work permit. Third, they had to have entered the United States before their 16th birthday AND before 2007, and to have lived here continuously since 2007.
The majority of enrollees are now between 18 and 36 years old. Many of their contemporaries are serving in the armed forces. Some of their former classmates from school have died in battle, or are learning to live with traumatic brain injuries, or adjusting to life with artificial body parts.
… And They Have a Pathway to Citizenship
In fact, for those who really love America, there already exists a pathway to citizenship. It was created by President Bush in 2002. USCIS explains that any noncitizen can apply for citizenship by serving in the armed forces.
USCIS explains that any noncitizen can apply for citizenship by serving in the armed forces.
“The President signed an executive order on July 3, 2002, authorizing all noncitizens who have served honorably in the U.S. armed forces on or after Sept. 11, 2001, to file for citizenship under section 329 of the INA. Section 329 also covers veterans of certain designated past wars and conflicts. The authorization related to the War on Terrorism will remain in effect until a date designated by a future presidential executive order.”
Congressional Responsibility
One of President Trump’s prominent campaign promises was to “shut down DACA on Day One” of his administration. Nine months after Trump took office, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA was being rescinded. Trump gave Congress six months to pass a law addressing the issue.
President Trump pointed out that this law affects nearly every aspect of the economy and touches millions of lives. He did not consider it appropriate that it was created by executive order, and made it clear that Congress should deal with the matter. He warned Congress that if they did not act, the law would expire and deportations would begin.
Negotiating a Deal
The President met with congressional leaders to discuss immigration policy. He allowed the media to record an entire hour of policy discussion, a freewheeling exchange of ideas. It was an example of how policy ought to be made: in the open, exploring problems, and debating the pros and cons of various policy solutions.
Trump told the members of Congress to go back and come up with a deal, and said he would sign it. He made it clear that it should be paired with border security – building the wall. It also should end the visa lottery, and ‘chain migration,’ the practice of allowing immigrants to sponsor several categories of family members to immigrate.
A small bipartisan group came back with a policy proposal that did not address the President’s stated concerns. It did not address chain migration, the visa lottery, or have a provision for building a wall. The President rejected the proposal. Senator Dick Durbin reported that Trump commented on the bill’s policies in very coarse language.
It looks like Schumer and his colleagues chose to stop funding the entire U.S. government in an attempt to force their policy preferences for the DACA enrollees. That looks like a Schumer Shutdown.
The media focused on the coarseness of the language Trump used (or didn’t, depending on their sources), rather than the issues in the policy discussion. Just as the ensuing media frenzy died down, the bipartisan Continuing Resolution (CR) passed last year to keep the government operating was nearing expiration. Because the budget CR requires 60 votes to pass the Senate, Senator Schumer has leverage over policy in spite of the Democrats’ minority status.
The Schumer Shutdown
Schumer and most of his caucus declared that they would oppose extending the government’s budget authority unless the CR contained a provision extending and expanding the DACA program. The CR fell far short of the required 60 votes, and the government has no budget. Is it fair to call this the Schumer Shutdown?
It certainly looks that way. It looks like Schumer and his colleagues chose to stop funding the entire U.S. government in an attempt to force their policy preferences for the DACA enrollees. That looks like a Schumer Shutdown.
