McConnell: DACA deal not happening this year
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that Congress will not pass a fix for a key Obama-era immigration program this year despite demands from Democrats and outside groups.
"No, we’ll not be doing DACA, this week. That’s a matter to be discussed next year. The president has given us until March to address that issue. We have plenty of time to do that," McConnell told Fox News, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Congress is expected to wrap up its work for the year this week and leave town until January.
The Trump administration announced earlier this year that it was ending DACA, setting a deadline in March for lawmakers to address the issue.
But progressive Democrats and immigration activists are demanding that lawmakers attach a fix for DACA — which allows undocumented immigrants brought into the U.S. as children to work and go to school — to a short-term government funding bill.
Congress has until the end of the day Friday to pass a government funding bill and avoid a shut down. The Senate is expected to offer a short-term bill that would punt the funding fight into January.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/365717-mcconnell-daca-deal-not-happening-this-year
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