Since Monday, Congress has been meeting for its “lame duck” session, the period between the election and the inauguration.
Despite losing the House elections, the Democrats still control the House until January… and outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has big plans for immigration.
Since 2003, House Majority Leader Hoyer, D-Md. has served as the second-ranked House Democrat, behind Pelosi. Hoyer just announced the House’s plans for the lame duck period… and the House Democrats are becoming ambitious.
In a meeting, Pelosi’s right-hand man promised a DACA fix sometime in the lame duck period, according to a reporter from Punchbowl News.
Take a look —
NEWS — HOYER said in dem caucus meeting that they are going to push for DACA fix in lame duck.
Me and @heatherscope
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 15, 2022
“DACA” stands for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals,” a longstanding policy delaying deportation for some illegal immigrants and offering them temporary visas for work. It applies to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
The failed DREAM Act would have provided a path to citizenship, but DACA offers only these temporary permits.
As president, Barack Obama first implemented DACA in 2012 through executive order, not through any act of Congress.
In 2014, Obama issued another order, expanding DACA to include the parents of these children. However, Obama’s 2014 order faced temporary blocks in court, and the order was rescinded in 2017 by the next president, Donald Trump.
Now, the House Democrats are trying to expand DACA themselves.
Last year, the House passed the American Dream and Promise Act, to allow some illegal immigrants a green card and “a path to receive permanent resident status.” The Senate has let the bill stall.
It remains unclear what the House Democrats want to include in their new “DACA fix.” If it’s anything like Obama’s failed “DACA fix,” it will be huge. According to one estimate, Obama’s 2014 expansion of DACA would have delayed about 5 million deportations.
The Senate is currently split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaking vote. The Senate can pass budget-related legislation with 51 votes.
The Horn editorial team