Pending Trump immigration action could pressure Hill to act

As President Donald Trump weighs scrapping protections for nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants, focus is intensifying on Capitol Hill on whether congressional leadership can reach a deal to continue the popular Obama-era program. 


It's unclear how drastically Trump may reshape DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave young people who had come to the United States illegally as kids a chance to work and study in the US without fear of deportation. Sources on the Hill increasingly believe Trump is leaning toward ending renewals and new applicants to the program, and a source familiar has said the White House is considering that option.
White House discussing whether DACA deadline can be moved
White House discussing whether DACA deadline can be moved
If Trump were to end the program, it would force a gut-check moment for leadership on both sides of the aisle. 


House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would have to decide whether they're willing to risk angering the most conservative wing of the Republican base by allowing a vote on what some on the right consider an "amnesty" -- which would almost certainly need Democratic votes to pass. Meanwhile Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, will be forced to decide whether they are willing to swallow a compromise that could include border wall money in in exchange for protections for "Dreamers," a population they have long advocated for. 


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With a hotly contested 2018 midterm election looming, and a number of moderate Republicans representing areas with high numbers of Dreamers up for re-election, lawmakers may feel compelled to act to save the program. 


Trump is expected to announce a DACA decision by September 5, the deadline set by a group of Republican state attorneys general who have threatened to sue over the program. 


But two sources familiar with DACA discussions at the White House say the administration is looking at whether the attorneys general who are pushing this issue would be willing to extend their deadline. 


One source said White House chief of staff John Kelly is among those officials advocating for such a delay. But the sources did not say whether Trump will listen to Kelly on the issue as he has come under tremendous pressure from inside the White House and from outside groups to end the DACA program

Source: NNA