Immigration is a thorny issue in US politics following Trump’s rhetoric on the matter. Immigration was one of the major pillars of Trump’s campaign in 2016 when he stated that immigrants have taken American jobs and that they are the reason for most crimes in America.
The Senate is scheduled to begin its debate on immigration on Monday evening to determine the fate of the dreamer Immigrants. Dreamers are immigrants brought to the US illegally as children by their parents and protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program set up by Barack Obama.
Trump canceled the DACA program in September 2017 claiming that Obama did not have the legal basis to start the program. The program seizes to protect the dreamers from March 3 which marks the deadline for the DACA immigrants. The debate is crucial as it will determine whether about 800,000 immigrants get to stay in America or will be deported to their countries of origin.
Expectations from the Debate
Trump is an influential voice towards the immigration conversation set to be held on Monday. The Republican contingent in the Senate stated on Sunday that they will present Trump’s plan in the session through the expectation will be that the proposal will not pass. Therefore, it will require Trump’s participation in the context of compromises. No Senate agreement is likely to pass without the President’s blessing and surety to compromise with other parties. So Trump’s support will be vital although he may be hesitant on that front.
Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader scheduled a preliminary procedural vote for Monday evening which will pass easily and commence the immigration debate. The Senate will then go through Immigration proposals for weeks in a bid to come up with a solution that pleases both Democrats and Republicans.
Possible Outcomes of an Immigration Deal
For any plan to prevail, it will need the support of 60 votes and above. Republicans are the majority with 51-49. If a Democrat plan is to pass, it will need the support of some Republicans. If the Republican plan is to pass, it will likewise need the support of some Democrats. It should also be put into consideration that Senator John McCain of Arizona is indisposed with a terminal illness and therefore his vote cannot be counted on.
Trump’s proposal is to offer a $1.8 million immigration process towards American citizenship but he requires a $25 billion border wall funding to build a wall on the Southern American-Mexico border. It is an unlikely scenario for the Democrats to agree to the funding of the wall because they are against it.
A different outcome could suffice with a Democratic plan backed by some Republicans applying for the immigrants to get citizenship but no border wall funding and no legal immigration restrictions. Trump will oppose such a proposal.
