GOP Border Bill Could “Make the Situation Worse” -Updated

UPDATE… according to various sources, House Republicans will not vote on either their pathetic border bill or the repeal of DACA before leaving town for the August recess because they lack enough votes to pass it.

Original story below

It’s still not clear if the GOP’s pathetic border bill will have the votes necessary to pass today, but even if it does the White House says it would be vetoed because it could make the situation worse.

The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 5230, making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014. Republicans have had more than a year to comprehensively fix the Nation’s broken immigration system, but instead of working toward a real, lasting solution, Republicans released patchwork legislation that will only put more arbitrary and unrealistic demands on an already broken system.

H.R. 5230 could make the situation worse, not better. By setting arbitrary timelines for the processing of cases, this bill could create backlogs that could ultimately shift resources away from priority public safety goals, like deporting known criminals. This bill will undercut due process for vulnerable children which could result in their removal to life threatening situations in foreign countries. In addition, the limited resources provided in H.R. 5230 are not designated as emergency, but rather come at the expense of other Government functions.

Based on this statement it seems clear the White House is not willing to roll back protections for possible victims of abuse and human trafficking just to pass a measly funding bill.

It’s ironic that Republicans, who have cried foul over the imagined, criminal misdeeds of immigrant children, going so far as to allege that they’re terrorists and rapists, are intent on passing a bill that could gum up the system and allow real threats to remain in the country.

Their desire to see all immigrants deported has created a situation where their ideology does not allow for prioritizing the deportation of some over others.

That is, after all, the basis of the Obama administration’s policy on immigration. In the absence of congressional action, the Obama administration has reorganized the system to deal with our problems in the most reasonable manner that executive authority allows.

This has allowed some individuals, such as DREAMers, to remain in the country. This is unacceptable to Republicans.

The GOP’s pathetic border bill also rolls back protection for federally-protected land and wildlife which, as we discussed the other day, is not an existential problem but more of an imagined slight.

Given the White House’s veto threat, and given the Senate’s unwillingness to pass the House GOP bill, it seems unlikely to me that a bill will be passed by both chambers of Congress today before they leave for the August recess.

The Republicans will crow about Democratic subterfuge, but they are the ones who have waited until the very last day to attempt passing a bill.

The Democratically-controlled Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill over a year ago.