Republican lawmakers in US House delay immigration vote until next week
Senior Republican Party lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have delayed at least until next week votes on an immigration bill that was painstakingly negotiated over the last several weeks but has failed to attract enough support for passage in the lower chamber of Congress.
Debate on a so-called compromise Republican plan had earlier been delayed to Friday to allow members additional time to review it. It was pushed back again after lawmakers said they failed to resolve differences on key issues in a Thursday meeting.
While Republicans called the measure a compromise, it has been crafted without any input from Democratic Party lawmakers and was supposed to be a compromise between warring conservatives and moderates in the Republican Party.
Even if the bill passes the House, Democratic lawmakers in the Senate are expected to block its passage because they oppose cuts to legal immigration and tying border wall funding to the future of young “Dreamer” immigrants seeking protection from deportation.
Several Republicans told reporters that some lawmakers demanded votes to require US businesses to use a controversial electronic verification system for confirming that job applicants live legally in the United States.
Many companies complain the system is burdensome and can be inaccurate.
And some lawmakers want improvements to a visa system for temporary farm workers.
Neither provisions were in the bill that was supposed to have been voted upon Thursday.
Meanwhile, it remained unclear how and when more than 2,300 children who have been separated from their parents under President Donald Trump’s immigration policy would be reunited.
Trump faces mounting public pressure over his “zero tolerance” policy of splitting migrant families and sending children to detention centers.
Thousands of people have been protesting in several US cities in recent days and activists are planning nationwide protests on June 30 following reports on the inhumane treatment of immigrants along the US border with Mexico.
In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a "zero tolerance" policy towards undocumented migrants and refugees, promising to prosecute those who crossed the southern border illegally. Part of that approach has been separating children from their parents who are detained.
Currently, there are over 10,000 children being detained in the United States.
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