A Republican lawmaker on Monday accused leaders of a bipartisan House caucus of withholding details of a compromise on immigration policy that could lead to a breakthrough in protracted negotiations on a major spending bill.
Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., said leaders of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus have waited more than two weeks to present a potential compromise to the group of roughly 40 House Democrats and House Republicans.
Curbelo, who represents parts of Miami and all of the Florida Keys, is leading talks with Democrats on immigration changes. He warned that potential compromises need to be unveiled this week if Congress has any hope of passing legislation that would enact permanent legal protections for so-called dreamers, the children of illegal immigrants -- a top Democratic priority -- and also make changes in the nation's security plan along the U.S.-Mexico border, a key priority for Republicans.
"This week is pivotal," Curbelo told a group of Hispanic congressional reporters.
He said that Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., leaders of the Problem Solvers Caucus, "have not presented the compromise to the entire caucus to try to get the votes necessary to proceed. Time is running out."
Spokesmen for Reed and Gottheimer didn't immediately return requests for comment.
Curbelo said a group of the caucus's members -- represented equally by Democrats and Republicans -- has been working for several months on a potential compromise that would merge legal protections for eligible dreamers with changes in border security.
At least six bills to address the legal status of dreamers have been introduced this year. Most Democrats say that the Dream Act, a bipartisan bill that would grant legal protections to eligible illegal immigrants, should be passed in conjunction with a year-end spending agreement that could be enacted later this month. Dozens of Democrats in the House and Senate have said they will withhold support for the must-pass spending bill if the fate of dreamers isn't addressed.
Curbelo is one of two Republicans -- Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., is the other -- who say they would join Democrats in voting against spending legislation if such protections aren't enacted by the end of the year.
"I think this week, it's possible that we'll see more," he warned.
In response to such threats, House and Senate Republicans have presented several ideas for intensifying enforcement of immigration laws along the southern border and across the country. The plans would provide some funding for construction of a border wall and more money for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Border Patrol to hire thousands of new personnel. But changes to "interior enforcement" in exchange for granting legal status to dreamers are strongly opposed by most Democrats and many moderate Republicans.
Curbelo has introduced a slightly more conservative version of the Dream Act but admitted to the reporters that he would vote for the Dream Act or other Democratic proposals if they ever came up for a vote in the GOP-controlled Congress.
Curbelo said the compromise being withheld by Problem Solvers leaders has "no interior enforcement. On the legalization side, I moved significantly over to some Dream Act components. It's a very good marriage. There's no wall. There's some 'smart wall' technology, some physical barriers, but very modest. In my view, this should have been out two weeks ago, three weeks ago."
The outlines of the deal as described by Curbelo are similar to a 2013 bipartisan bill that easily passed the Senate but was never considered by the House.
Asked why he thinks there's a reluctance to unveil the compromise, Curbelo accused colleagues of playing political chicken.
"For me it's easy, but I understand for many colleagues, this is the closest they'll ever be to passing a meaningful immigration bill," he said.
"The reason we are where we are on immigration policy in this country is because nothing's ever been good enough and each side has always wanted more. There's that dynamic going on now, too," Curbelo said.
A Section on 12/12/2017