WASHINGTON \u2014 The Senate rejected both a bipartisan immigration plan and a more restrictive proposal by President Donald Trump on Thursday, suggesting the latest election-year debate on an issue that fires up both parties\u2019 voters will produce a familiar outcome: stalemate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing a White House veto threat and opposition from the Senate\u2019s GOP leaders, the chamber derailed a plan by bipartisan senators that would have helped 1.8 million young immigrant \u201cDreamers\u201d achieve citizenship. It also would have doled out $25 billion for Trump\u2019s coveted wall with Mexico and for other border security measures, but it didn\u2019t go as far as Trump wanted in curbing legal immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It lost 54-45, six short of the 60 votes that were needed for passage. That scuttled what had seemed the likeliest chance for sweeping immigration legislation to make it through the Senate this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s own plan fared even worse as 60 senators voted no and just 39 voted for it \u2014 21 shy of the 60 needed. The embarrassing outcome for the president underscored the feelings of Republicans concerned about election damage in swing states with high numbers of Hispanic voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Top Democrats had held out faint hopes that the bipartisan package would prevail, or at least force Trump to negotiate further. But he proved unwilling to fold on his demands for a tougher bill, reflecting the hard-line immigration stance that was a cornerstone of his 2016 presidential run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a written statement earlier Thursday, the White House labeled the bipartisan proposal \u201cdangerous policy that will harm the nation.\u201d It singled out a provision that directed the government to prioritize enforcement efforts against immigrants who arrive illegally beginning in July. Trump and GOP leaders said he\u2019d already shown flexibility by offering a 10- to 12-year path to citizenship for so many Dreamers, a key demand for Democrats and some Republicans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minutes later, the chamber voted against Trump\u2019s proposal. Besides helping Dreamers achieve citizenship, the president\u2019s measure would have provided wall funding in one burst, rather than doling it out over 10 years as the bipartisan plan proposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition, Trump\u2019s bill would have prevented legal immigrants from sponsoring parents and siblings for citizenship and would have ended a visa lottery aimed at allowing more diverse immigrants into the U.S. The compromise bill would have left that lottery intact but barred Dreamers who obtain citizenship from sponsoring their parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDreamers\u201d are immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children who risk deportation because they lack permanent authorization to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump annulled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, that President Barack Obama created that\u2019s protected the Dreamers. He\u2019s given Congress until March 5 to restore the program, though federal courts have blocked him temporarily from dismantling it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate leaders opened the day\u2019s debate by trading blame. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., assailed Democrats for failing to offer \u201ca single proposal that gives us a realistic chance to make law.\u201d Instead, he said, Democrats should back Trump\u2019s \u201cextremely generous\u201d proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, Democratic leaders rallied behind the bipartisan plan. Eight Republicans joined most Democrats in backing that compromise, while three Democrats joined most GOP senators in opposing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Trump has \u201cstood in the way of every single proposal that has had a chance of becoming law.\u201d He added, \u201cThe American people will blame President Trump and no one else for the failure to protect Dreamers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overnight, the Department of Homeland Security said in an emailed statement that the bipartisan proposal would be \u201cthe end of immigration enforcement in America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That drew fire from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of eight GOP co-sponsors of the bipartisan plan. \u201cInstead of offering thoughts and advice \u2014 or even constructive criticism \u2014 they are acting more like a political organization intent on poisoning the well,\u201d Graham said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bipartisan compromise was announced Wednesday by 16 senators with centrist views on the issue and was winning support from many Democrats, but it faced an uncertain fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides opposition by the administration and leading Republicans, the bipartisan plan prompted qualms among Democrats. The party\u2019s No. 2 Senate leader, Dick Durbin of Illinois, said some Democrats had \u201cserious issues\u201d with parts of the plan. Those concerns focused on its spending for Trump\u2019s wall and its prohibition against Dreamers sponsoring their parents for legal residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bipartisan measure\u2019s sponsors included eight GOP senators. It was produced by a group led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that spent weeks seeking middle ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The moderates\u2019 measure would not have altered a lottery that distributes about 55,000 visas annually to people from diverse countries. Trump has proposed ending it and redistributing visas to other immigrants, including some who are admitted based on job skills, not family ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also rejected was a more modest plan by McCain and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. It would have let many Dreamers qualify for permanent residency and directed federal agencies to more effectively control the border by 2020. But it didn\u2019t offer a special citizenship pathway for Dreamers, raise border security funds or make sweeping changes in legal immigration rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A proposal by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., was killed that would have added language blocking federal grants to \u201csanctuary cities,\u201d communities that don\u2019t cooperate with federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Associated Press writer Andrew Taylor contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The vote, 54-45, scuttled what had seemed the likeliest chance for sweeping immigration legislation to make it through the Senate this year. Trump\u2019s own plan fared even worse as 60 senators voted no and just 39 voted for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,106,31,33,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5430],"class_list":["post-11339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"QMEH6WLUOFEEPHNE6MCGVW45IM","arc_canonical_url":"\/federal-oversight\/congress\/2018\/02\/15\/senate-rejects-immigration-plan-by-bipartisan-senators\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n