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Last week, the Trump administration released details of their demands in exchange for allowing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to stay in the U.S., demands clearly driven by white supremacist and White House adviser Stephen Miller. But what the racist might see in that offer is "amnesty." What the rest of us see is a cruel, whites-only policy determined to split families and destroy American values as an immigrant nation.
That's boxed the administration and lawmakers in. There's no way Trump's vision will pass Congress, and there's no way either Trump or House Speaker Paul Ryan will allow a bipartisan immigration plan to move forward. In the balance hang hundreds of thousands of Dreamers, who can only hope at best for a temporary extension.
One remaining option that looks increasingly likely is for Congress to pair a temporary extension of DACA with government funding, perhaps with some border security, and punt a longer-term deal into an indefinite future.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, told reporters January 8 that if a deal can't be reached, lawmakers would find another way, according to Roll Call.
"We'll probably extend the DREAM Act kids, the DACA kids, for a year," Graham said.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, told reporters last week that a deal will be "temporary for temporary, permanent for permanent"—meaning if Democrats can't agree to massive border security, the DACA deal won't be permanent, either.
"If you want an annual appropriation then I think you'll get a one-year extension of the DACA status," Cornyn said.
Immigration advocates haven't completely given up on a permanent solution for the Dreamers, because it's clear that there is bipartisan desire for it and because it's such a popular issue with voters. Frank Sharry, an advocate with America's Voice Education Fund says "I'm not prepared to declare this dead at all, because we're far from dead." But at the moment, he sees room for a shorter-term deal. "When the White House realizes this is going nowhere and Republican leadership is going to be left holding the bag, they may say, 'Let's do something narrow and do it quick.' And it'll be border security and a DACA fix."