According to the Huffington Post, Speaker Paul Ryan revealed to House conservatives on Tuesday that provisions for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also referred to as "Dreamers," will be included in the year-end spending Deal, in hopes of accumulating Democratic support.
Republican Study Committee (RSC) member, Mark Walker, told the post that Ryan had explained that sharing reduction (CSR) payments for Obamacare would probably not be included in the year-end deal, but protections for undocumented immigrants would be.
Thousands of undocumented immigrants rely on DACA to protect them from deportation
Earlier this year, President Trump announced that he was doing away with the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Instead of abruptly ending the program, Trump announced that there would be a six-month delay, and during that time, Congress would be given the opportunity to come up with a better solution for undocumented immigrants. In the meantime, the "Dreamers" who are affected by the suspension continue to suffer through the aftermath of Trump's decision.
Democrats and Republicans have been working on a compromise to help the 800,000 people who participate in the program.
Ryan understands the challenge behind gaining support and coming up with a compromise that both parties are happy with. President Trump has also made it very clear that border security provisions are also a requirement for submitting protection proposals, which has been an issue of debate between Republicans and Democrats.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, RSC member, Republican Rob Woodall said that passing a revised plan would take both parties voting together, "we just wouldn't have the votes to do it by itself, so it would have to get combined."
The DACA program may not have been as beneficial as it seemed
The motive behind ending the DACA program and replacing it with alternative solution came after the Trump administration received notice from 10 conservative state attorneys generals, who were threatening to challenge the program in court.
Elaine Duke, Security Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security expressed her concern of the program enforced by the previous administration and she also explains her reasoning behind rallying for a better way to provide permanent citizenship status to "Dreamers" in a statement she released to CNN.
According to her statement, Duke feels that "DACA was never more than parole - a bureaucratic delay - that never promised the rights of citizenship or legal status in this country." She also calls DACA a "lie that left recipients in two-year cycles of uncertainty."
When considering Duke's irrefutable points and also Ryan's comments regarding the year-end budget, those who had been protected by DACA may end up receiving a better deal, which could possibly involve permanent citizenship status.