WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump considers ending an Obama-era program that allows immigrants brought to America as children to obtain legal status, a small number of congressional Republicans are pitching a “conservative Dream Act” as a fail-safe. But it’s far from clear that Republicans could wrangle the votes to pass that bill in the House – or where it might fit in a crowded September session already thrown off by Hurricane Harvey.
Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., who represents a Denver swing district, said Thursday that if Trump ends Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, he would use procedural maneuvers to force a vote on the Bridge Act – an encouraging sign for Democrats, who long said that they need just a handful of Republicans to join with them to force a vote on such legislation.
Several other Republicans in diverse swing districts, including Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Jeff Denham, R-Calif., Will Hurd, R-Texas, Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., and retiring Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., have said they would support seeking protections for DACA recipients. In the Senate, the Bridge Act is co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who have said that it would likely have the support to pass.
In the House, the math is trickier. Coffman said on Twitter that he would use a discharge petition, a tactic that can send a bill to the floor without the approval of the committee, a way to rescue legislation that the majority party does not support. In theory, the Bridge Act could come to the floor, and pass, if 23 Republicans joined Coffman and every House Democrat to support it.