On Jan. 22, the government shutdown came to a close after Congress had voted on a short-term spending bill to fund government operations that had been closed for the past weekend. The bill will be effective through Feb. 8 and, as part of the agreement, there will be a vote on immigration in the next couple of weeks.
This is following the government shutdown that began Jan. 20 which left “non-essential” departments and agencies to be furloughed (off work until the shutdown ends).Those affected include federally funded research, national park operations, the Department of Education, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Republican’s and Democrat’s disagreement toward policies regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and immigration is the primary issue that left the Senate in deadlock.
The attempt to create legislation on DACA is in response to President Trump’s order last Sept. when he called to Congress to address immigration issues before the act’s demise on March 5. Earlier this month there was a discussion between President Trump and senators about extending DACA and creating other resources and pathways for students who came to the country illegally through their parents.
The “Gang of Six”—six senators working towards a bipartisan immigration bill—introduced a bill that would allow students that qualified for DACA to get legal status, eliminate the chance for parents of DREAMers to receive citizenship through their child’s sponsorship, eliminate the diversity visa lottery and re-allocate the visas and add more finances for border security. Proponents of this bill are led by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and includes Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).
Despite the efforts, progress was halted after President Trump’s comments at a meeting discussing the protection of immigrants with lawmakers on Jan. 11 where he asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” in regard to immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.
For a deal to get passed and end the shutdown, there will need to be a bill that can get 60 votes in the Senate and as well as be approved by Trump. On Jan. 21, the president had tweeted his suggestion for what Congress’s next step should be.
“Great to see how hard Republicans are fighting for our military and safety at the border. The Dems just want illegal immigrants to pour into our nation unchecked. If the stalemate continues, Republicans should go to 51% (Nuclear Option) and vote on real, long-term budget, no C.R.’s.”
Ultimately, in the Senate, the vote to end the shutdown was 81 to 18. The vote in the House was 266 to 150.
