Speaker John Boehner's $40 billion anti-immigrant bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security got a thumbs up from two House Democrats: Brad Ashford (D-NE) and Collin Peterson (D-MN). In his first floor speech of the year,
Ashford promised to be independent, pragmatic and bipartisan:
“I’ve pledged to be an independent, pragmatic voice for my constituents, to responsibly tackle the difficult issues facing our country and to do so in a bipartisan manner,” Ashford said.
Apparently his constituents are more interested in jeopardizing funding for national security than they were in passing a bill that stood a good chance of succeeding in the Senate. Funding for DHS ends Feb. 27 and
Senate Republicans don't think they can get the 60 votes to advance the bill due to its anti-immigrant provisions.
U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday said it was unclear if they could pass a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that blocks President Barack Obama's immigration initiatives, raising an early stumbling block for the new Republican Congress.
House Republicans managed to attach all five anti-immigrant measures to the bill. The two worst provisions—one choking off funding for Obama's executive actions last November and one discontinuing the DACA program—passed 237-190 (with seven Republicans defecting) and 218-209 (with 26 Republicans defecting), respectively. Democrats steered clear of voting for either amendment. Aside from two those provisions, here's what the other amendments
aimed to do:
prioritize deportation for domestic violence and sexual abuse offenders; to promote the hiring of U.S. citizens and legal residents over those in the country illegally; and prioritize people who came to the U.S. legally ahead of those who arrived illegally.
The House passed the final bill to fund DHS and deport everyone in sight by a vote of 236-191. Meanwhile,
10 Republicans had the good sense to reject the legislation: Reps. Justin Amash (R-MI), Mike Coffman (R-CO), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), Robert Dold (R-IL), Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and David Valadao (R-CA).