We should all be in agreement that Congress needs to do something post haste about the incessant surge of humanity pouring across our southern border and the many peripheral issues uncontrolled illegal immigration has posed for American citizens. Both parties need to at least begin to find common-sense solutions—after all, managing the challenges we are facing in this area is at the top of American citizens’ priority lists, and that’s not going to change. To this end, the post-election lame-duck session of Congress that we find ourselves in has presented an opportunity, as they often do. An opportunity to consider a piece of legislation that moves the ball forward on border security while addressing the unresolved issue of how to deal with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) issue.
The DACA program was created in 2012 to provide “temporary relief from deportation (deferred action) and work authorization to certain young undocumented immigrants.” Yet the federal government made it all an empty promise, because nothing was ever done to end the program or to give these recipients some sort of permanent status or other form of resolution. So as a result, the federal government has two big, urgent issues that they need to address.
Shockingly, Congress has come up with a bipartisan, bicameral bill that seems well worth our attention and their serious consideration. The bill gives the Department of Homeland Security, from which DACA originated, and the Justice Department actual tools to help manage influxes across the border, deal with asylum claims, ethically deal with the growing and heartbreaking challenge of unaccompanied children, help local communities directly impacted by the surge and provide clarity to begin to curb out-of-control fraudulent asylum claims. The Bipartisan Border Solutions Act, S.1358, is sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ). In the House, the bill is sponsored by Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) along with five other Republicans supporting the bill, which seems like the most likely vehicle to pass and get us on a path toward actual progress on the illegal immigration front.
Note the bipartisan crafters of this bill and where they come from. The front lines, essentially. To me at least, this matters and should be given due weight. Plus (and with all due respect) Vice President Harris, tasked two years ago by the president with getting us moving on the immigration issue has, well, choked. (“You had one job!”).
Congress members are searching for a deal as I write. As CNN reported on Monday, “Senate Democrats are racing against the clock to try to strike an agreement with Republicans to provide a pathway to citizenship for recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.” Republicans seem open to some sort of a deal—something--to begin to stop people from flooding the border to file fraudulent asylum claims and to remove this flaw in the law that has become a magnet for our entire southern hemisphere.
Conservatives know two things. The Trump Administration ended up doing nothing with the DACA issue, which just exacerbated the problem. They also know that Democrats will not give an inch on border security without a DACA deal of some sort. It is better to get something now on border security than to do nothing during this lame duck session and allow the current broken system to remain exactly as it is.
The signs of common-sense we are seeing in the discussions over the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act are indeed encouraging. Sen. Cornyn’s statement upon its introduction to the invoked the plight of our border security agents: “I have seen firsthand that law enforcement at our southern border has been overwhelmed by this historic surge of migrants, and border communities are straining to provide whatever assistance they can.” Sen. Sinema emphasized that “the federal government take meaningful steps to support our border communities, secure the border, and treat all migrants and unaccompanied children fairly and humanely.” Both are right, Congress needs to stop dodging solutions to tough problems and try to solve a few of them.
So many words. Might we finally see a little action? Not exactly holding my breath, but this could be the start of something tangible. It sure would be something.
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