Now That Ryan's A Lame Duck...

Remember, it's your country... until they come for YOUR children

The few mainstream House Republicans are joining Democrats to force a DACA vote. It's thought that if it actually comes to a vote on the floor, the tremendous popularity nationally will leave dozens of Republican afraid to vote against it.80 and 90% of Americans back DACA and even Trump supporters want it passed. It makes it very tough for even racist Republicans to vote against it.

As Rachel Bade at Politico put it yesterday, the mainstream Republicans in the House are "trying to force a vote codifying Obama-era protections for young undocumented immigrants on the House floor... If every Democrat supports the idea, which sources said is likely, 20 Republicans would have to break ranks and join them to trigger the votes." Republicans leading the effort include Carlos Curbelo (FL), Will Hurd (TX), Jeff Denham (CA) and David Valadao (CA).

These are some of the Republicans with huge Latino populations in their districts who would be put in an untenable position if the bill comes to a vote (the percentage represents the Hispanic populations):

• FL-27- Ileana Ros-Lehtinen- 83.1%
• FL-25- Mario Diaz-Balart- 75.7%
• CA-21- David Valadao- 75.6%
• FL-26- Carlos Curbelo- 74.0%
• TX-23- Will Hurd- 72.2%
• TX-27- (Blake Farenthold)- 53.7%
• NM-02- Steve Pearce- 53.6%
• CA-22- Devin Nunes- 49.6%
• CA-10- Jeff Denham- 44.5%
• CA-23- Kevin McCarthy- 40.8%
• CA-42- Ken Calvert- 40.6%
• CA-08- Paul Cook- 40.5%
• TX-11- Mike Conaway- 39.9%
• CA-25- Steve Knight- 38.7%
• WA-04- Dan Newhouse- 38.5%
• TX-19- (Randy Neugebauer)- 36.7%
• CA-39- (Ed Royce)- 35.2%
• TX-07- John Culberson- 34.8%
• TX-21- (Lamar Smith)- 33.2%
• CA-50- Duncan Hunter- 33.1%

Those are all Republican members of Congress with at least 33% Hispanic populations. Some of them are very, very conservative and racist-- not mainstream at all, like Devin Nunes, Steve Pearce, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Conaway, Ken Calvert... Believe me, they do not want to be forced into voting on this.

Two sources intimately involved in the effort say at least 15 Republicans are ready to join. This week they picked up a significant GOP voice on immigration, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who had been working hand-in-hand with Ryan and the White House on immigration.

Diaz-Balart has wanted Congress to codify Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals but had been unwilling to go against the speaker until now. His support is likely to sway other centrist Republicans frustrated by the lack of action on Dreamers to sign the petition.

GOP leaders, meanwhile, are working behind the scenes to shut it down. Ryan has personally spoken with many of the centrist Republicans involved in the matter, according to one GOP leadership source. Staff have also made calls.

GOP leaders say now is not the time to get caught up in a controversial immigration fight that divides the party and the nation in the middle of an election year. They would prefer that the courts rule on DACA before Congress takes action.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule this fall on President Donald Trump’s decision to end the program earlier this year.

The discharge petition would trigger votes on Democratic, Republican and bipartisan fixes to DACA, with a “queen-of-the-Hill” approach. That means the proposal getting the highest number of votes over 218 would be adopted by the House. If there is a tie, the last legislation voted on would be adopted.

One of the proposals receiving a vote would be House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-Va.) conservative DACA fix that would curb legal immigration and crack down on sanctuary cities and child migrants, in addition to building a border wall and beefing up enforcement. The plan, which would also require employers to verify the legal status of employees, is more restrictive than the White House plan, and some Republicans would oppose it.

Other bills that would receive a vote include the Democrats’ favored Dream Act, which would codify the program and provide a pathway to citizenship for young adults who migrated to the United States as children. In addition, two bipartisan bills that include additional border security in exchange for DACA protections would also be taken up.

Marge Doyle, the progressive Democrat running for the vast eastern California seat Paul Cook occupies, noticed this as well. Cook, as you can see, didn't sign on to the letter to Ryan and the House Rules Committee. Marge: "Instead of supporting our Dreamers, Paul Cook chooses to scapegoat them and other immigrants in order to promote himself politically. Dreamers deserve a path to citizenship and a clean DACA bill should be approved without delay. Our nation is built on the strength of our diversity. Small minded politicians seek to divide us on this issue. Do not be fooled! The immigrant communities contribute over 11 billion dollars a year to our economy in taxes. They are our neighbors, friends and family. Celebrate our shared immigrant heritage!"