At first I thought the Recognizing America’s Children Act (“RAC”) was a Democratic ploy to keep DACA alive in case President Trump and Jeff Sessions turned their attention to deferred action. Not so. H.R. 1468 is a GOP creation. It’s what a Republican amnesty bill looks like. The RAC Act reads a lot like DACA and has something in common: it talks about children but the people it benefits aren’t kids.
RAC Act amnesty for children? Not really.
Courtesy CBP
The RAC Act was introduced on March 9, 2017 by Florida Congressman Carlos Curbelo with 15 GOP cosponsors. You can read H.R. 1468 on Congress.gov, so no need to break it apart here. The bill gives a pass to illegal immigrants brought here as kids if they go to college, enter the military, or work. Five years of conditional status puts applicants on the road to permanent U.S. residence.
This is as close to Democratic foot-in-the-door permissiveness as the GOP can get. The bill raises a lot of the same questions as deferred action. There is vetting, of course. That means by agreeing to background checks applicants are risking turning in the undocumented parents who brought them here. That’s something they might want to think about. Republican sponsors should give it some thought, too. The bill provides that the information collected can’t be used against anyone. Therefore it could ban deportation proceedings against a parent if their identity or whereabouts is part of RAC Act information gathering.
Midterm immigration jitters
Republicans have good reason to be nervous about a midterm backlash against stepped up law enforcement. The recent story of an alleged deferred action “DREAMer” being sent back to Mexico1 is not getting a warm reception in liberal America, so it doesn’t matter what unlucky deported residents do or how justified the government is in taking action. Trump and the Republicans will wear the blame.
That will be a problem in November 2018, but does it justify measures like this?
America’s children are America’s mistake
The hype from RAC Act sponsors sounds the same as what we hear from Democrats: this is the only country these people know, it’s not their fault they are here, and they only want to contribute.2
The undocumented are “America’s children” if they meet RAC Act guidelines.3 I’m not sure why I find this so offensive. “America’s mistake” is closer to the truth, but it does point to one big problem with the bill that makes it very wrong.
Why the RAC Act is wrong
The RAC Act creates new phrases for illegal immigrants such as “alien enlistees” if they serve in the military and “alien postsecondary students” if they choose to attend college.4
Aside from the bill’s rhetorical sleight about children, the problem with this is the same mistake we have been making all along: it gives hope. The RAC Act is another reason to come to America and to remain here if you already made the trip.
Any good parent will do anything for their children. Crossing the border illegally is one of those things. The RAC Act residency requirements are going to be lost on those hoping that if they make the journey another bill and another chance will come their way.
The ethics of amnesty
The RAC Act is a plan for Republican amnesty for one group, pure and simple. It’s not a bad one. It tackles the conundrum over what to do with DACA, but how can we do the right thing without giving hope that by crossing our border life will be better for future generations?
Perhaps the solution is to get this done and then slam the door, crack down hard, and clean house. It’s difficult to argue that kids who were dragged here by their parents did anything wrong. They are now de facto Americans. We let it happen, so it’s our mistake. This can’t be a foot-in-the-door bill, though. America needs to set a deadline, enforce the law, and then remove those left out.
That’s how we recognize America, not just our illegal immigrant children.
August 26, 2017: Republicans back DACA
With rumors circulating that DACA’s days are numbered, six House Republicans sent a letter to President Trump on August 22, 2017 supporting the program.
The letter warns of $60 billion lost to taxes and defends deferred action with Democratic talking points. No mention is made of the cost of illegal immigration or administering the program. There is no explanation of why some of these individuals “were brought to America as children through no fault of their own”5 but still qualify if they were under 31 years of age as of June 15, 20126 and have done nothing to change their status.
What is the solution suggested by Rep. Denham and his colleagues?
It is in the best interest of our nation to continue DACA until we can pass a permanent legislative solution, such as the Republican-backed Recognizing America’s Children Act.7
September 4, 2017: End run around Trump?
Apparently the August 22 letter to President Trump supporting DACA didn’t get the job done. The president will make his announcement about the fate of Obama’s program tomorrow, but no one is expecting him to give it the White House seal of approval.
Likely anticipating the fallout from the cancellation of this Democratic favorite, 10 Republicans sent a second missive on September 1, 2017.8 Four were signers on the August 22 letter. RAC Act sponsor Carlos Curbelo signed both letters, as did cosponsors Jeff Denham, David Valadao, and Don Bacon.
This time the plea to do something about DACA went to Paul Ryan. Both letters used a favorite Democratic Party argument. The August 22 letter declared:
Because they now have work permits, they are making immediate contributions to our society and our economy.9
The September 1, 2017 letter repeated the argument:
DACA recipients have contributed both to the U.S. economy and our society.10
The plan to go around the president is suspicious:
We are willing and ready to find a solution no matter what action is taken by President Trump in the coming days and encourage you [Speaker Paul Ryan] to work with us as soon as possible to do so.11
If these House Republicans get their way, who gets saved? Illegal immigrants and politicians.
Meanwhile, the RAC Act has gone nowhere except the House bureaucracy including the Subcommittees on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, Border and Maritime Security, and Immigration and Border Security.
Don’t look for the RAC Act to bail out DACA. Even Trump’s anticipated six-month window for cancelling the program won’t be long enough to push this affront to Republican voters through.
September 5, 2017: 6 months to agree on a fix?
How “willing and ready” are Republicans really? They have six months to figure out how to fix the problem dropped in their laps today by the end of DACA. Their options include the RAC Act, the Bridge Act, and listening to plenty of activists ready to suggest new bills. They also have lots of GOP voters eager to find out how they will approve what is a grant of amnesty no matter how you slice it.
Six months is not very long. My guess is they are looking for a big, shiny can to kick down that legislative street. Bridge Act, anyone?
September 9, 2017: Republican amnesty train leaves the station
Who could have guessed that Obama’s executive order would be such a big hit with Republicans? GOP House members are lining up to save what until now was a big thorn in conservative feet and a widely recognized overreach by our last president.
Nevertheless, Washington Rep. Dave Reichert called on Congress to protect the program and come up with a solution that “allows all individuals to pursue the American dream.“12
Citing the RAC Act’s “five year conditional legal status,”13 Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) called the RAC Act a “permanent legal solution” to the DACA problem the president created last week.
Michigan’s Fred Upton co-sponsored the RAC Act and the BRIDGE Act. On the day Trump dumped DACA he remarked:
For these young men and women, the United States is their home. They’ve been raised in our neighborhoods, attended our schools, served in our military, and worked in our communities.14
We’ve heard that one more times than I care to remember, mostly from Democrats before Republicans decided that amnesty is acceptable as long as it isn’t coming from Obama.
So here’s the question: if you weren’t dragged to the U.S. as a child but have lived here illegally for many years, don’t you also consider America to be your home? If we follow Rep. Upton’s reasoning, then it’s not how old you were when you arrived that matters. It’s how long you’ve managed to stay.
October 23, 2017: DACA dead, RAC Act goes nowhere.
After being introduced on March 9, 2017 the RAC Act traveled to the Committee on the Judiciary, to House Homeland Security, House Armed Services, the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, and finally the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence.15 That last stop was on March 22, 2017, and that’s where the trail ends.
In addition to the RAC Act, the BRIDGE Act (H.R.496) was introduced January 12, 2017, the ENLIST Act (H.R.60) was introduced January 3, 2017, and the never-say-die DREAM Act (currently S.1615) was introduced in the Senate on July 20, 2017.
That’s a lot of legislation going nowhere to fix the same problem. With DACA dead lawmakers on both sides are under fire more than ever to come up with a solution for the Democratic Party’s DREAMers.
What do you think – is this task too difficult for Capitol Hill to tackle or are lawmakers too conflicted about making a pro-amnesty move that Republicans know for certain will infuriate their base?
November 11, 2017: Curbelo asks for more work permits
The sponsor of the RAC Act pulled the ESPERER Act of 2017 out of his Democratic bag of tricks on October 31, 2017. If passed, H.R.4184 will extend temporary protected status (“TPS”) to 300,000 migrants from Nicaragua, Honduras, Salvador, and Haiti who arrived before January 2011. It would also hand them work permits.16
6 of the 8 cosponsors are Democrats. This should be a conflict when you consider that job creation for the less fortunate will be one of the party’s pivotal issues for next year’s midterms. On the other hand, Dems have never been shy about using immigrants to create pressure for jobs and then blaming Republicans for the plight of low wage workers.
Curbelo argues that these migrants need a safe haven17 because their homes are too dangerous. The same can be said of Mexico, but the congressman points out one big difference:
Migrants who received TPS are not on an immigration track that leads to permanent residence or citizenship.18
After we keep them here long enough they will be, along with millions of others the GOP has lost its courage to do something about. The RAC Act and ESPERER Act are just small parts of a much larger conservative immigration sellout.
November 12, 2017: gangs and protected status fraud
After posting yesterday’s update about the ESPERER Act I found this article on ICE.gov. It included the usual litany of offenses the agency has to deal with: sex trafficking, illegal re-entry, drug trafficking, and an instance of TPS fraud tied to identity theft.
So now we’re back to the vetting issue. How are we going to do that right before we start handing out those 300,000 work permits Rep. Curbelo is asking for and more important, why should we believe anything we hear about his RAC Act?
December 25, 2017: shocking “America’s children” announcement to justify a shutdown
RAC Act sponsor Curbelo made this announcement on December 21, 2017 after Congress went home to celebrate the holidays without taking care of its DACA DREAMer problem:
These are America’s children, and they have earned a future in our country. So I will not vote for any spending bills until this important issue is resolved.19
That’s a pretty shocking announcement from a congressman who claims to belong to the Republican Party. These aren’t Americans and they aren’t America’s children. They are children from another country and thanks to Barack Obama many of them believe they have a right to still be here many years into adulthood.
Taxpayers don’t deserve a shutdown because the House didn’t approve Republican amnesty. Fortunately, more responsible heads prevailed. RINO Curbelo made good on his threat but he was in the minority. A shutdown was averted and the government is paid for until the middle of next month.
January 16, 2018: who comes first in DACA shutdown threat?
If Democrats are confident they can spin a government shutdown over DACA, let them try it. First they should remember how Obama hung the last shutdown around the necks of Republicans. This time it’s all about helping illegals. I seriously doubt most Americans will be sympathetic to a party that places citizens second.
Three more days to go …
April 13, 2018: What is a Queen of the Hill Resolution?
House Republicans try new dirty trick
They couldn’t find room in their enormous $1.3 trillion omnibus for Trump’s promise to secure the border. Instead, we’re sending National Guard troops with a hazy duty that won’t substitute for a border wall while the House puzzles over Republican amnesty:
President Trump set a deadline for Congress to act, and we have failed to put in place a permanent solution for DACA recipients, many of whom are just one court ruling away from being deported from the only country they have ever known,” said Rep. [Jeff] Denham.20
When a California congressman talks about a “rarely invoked,” “little-known”21 queen-of-the-hill rule we know we’ve got a problem. 45 House Republicans endorsed this dirty trick:
The process, referred to as “Queen of the Hill,” provides consideration of H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act but allows for four separate substitute amendments.22
Those amendments include H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act, H.R. 3440, the DREAM Act, and a version of H.R. 4796, the USA Act.23 According to Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) a fourth bill can also be proposed by House leaders, which could put another RAC Act solution up for consideration.
House Republicans didn’t feel any obligation to fund Trump’s wall, but these fraidy-cat conservatives appear determined to rescue illegals before they hand over the House to Democrats in November.
No wonder Ryan is leaving. I’d be ashamed to stay.
June 4, 2018: H.Res. 774 a solution or GOP sellout?
A handful of determined Republicans are keeping the spirit of Obama alive and well on Capitol Hill.
Led by California Democrat Jeff Denham, GOP House members are ganging up to force action on DACA by signing on to a petition to move forward with H.Res. 774. The resolution will clear the way for action on four different solutions to the DACA cancellation conundrum. According to The Hill, action is expected as soon as this week.
The goal is simple: come up with a “permanent legislative fix”24 that will extend rights to undocumented immigrants Republicans have been frightened into believing are being treated unfairly:
The ploy is to force a floor vote on immigration and border security legislation,25 even though Republicans already said no to Trump’s border wall in their last spending package.
The rhetoric is lofty, including this snippet from the RAC Act’s Curbelo:
Congress should be motivated by courage – not inhibited by cowardice – in the pursuit of the legislative solutions the American people expect.26
The arguments are damning:
The Administration’s cruel decision to end the DACA program has trapped Nevada’s Dreamers in a seemingly endless limbo, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this urgent effort – it’s the right and moral thing to do.”27
And when it’s all over the decision will fall between Republican fears for the November election and Trump’s insistence on a border wall.
Curbelo is right. This is what we expect from the GOP.
June 25, 2018: Republicans sell amnesty
This week the House has two options. The Denham solution is favored by Speaker Ryan:
The Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018 provides a permanent solution for all 1.8 million Dreamers on Day One by providing a pathway to citizenship, guarantees funding for border security, fixes family separation policies, prioritizes the nuclear family, closes loopholes to prevent future flows of undocumented immigrants, and transitions to a merit focused immigration system.28
One of only six GOP cosponsors of the 2017 DREAM Act, Denham is up for reelection in California this fall (author’s note: a bid that Denham lost to Democrat Josh Harder).
The other bill comes from Virginia’s Bob Goodlatte. It deals with the DREAMer problem but offers no path to citizenship. It doesn’t pander to pre-election jitters, but offers a hard line approach that stands no chance as Democrats beat down the GOP on the principles that put the party in charge.
So we get amnesty or we get nothing. Trump is wrong. Immigration is not a waste of time. It is a sellout dictated by Democrats being sold to conservatives as doing the right thing.
January 5, 2019: Final RAC Act Update? Republican Curbelo is Out
A liberal-leaning stance on immigration didn’t save Carlos Curbelo’s House seat from a successful challenge by Debbie Mucarsel-Powell who was sworn into office with a passel of winning Democrats on January 3, 2019. Jeff Denham is out as well, another November 2018 midterm victim.
The last House action on the RAC Act goes back to March 22, 2017. The bill was never popular with House Democrats and with the 2019 seismic power shift to the left I think we can safely put the final nail in the coffin of Republican amnesty for children.
Footnotes
1. “Gutierrez on Reports of Deported Dreamer with DACA.” Luis V. Gutierrez. April 19, 2017. https://gutierrez.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/guti-rrez-reports-deported-dreamer-daca, retrieved April 22, 2017.
2. “Curbelo, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Provide Legal Status to Undocumented Children and Young Adults.” Carlos Curbelo. March 10, 2017. http://curbelo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1368, retrieved April 20, 2017.
3. Ibid.
4. “H.R. 1468 – Recognizing America’s Children Act.” Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1468/cosponsors, retrieved April 21, 2017.
5. “Rep. Denham, Colleagues, Send Letter to President Trump Requesting Support for DACA.” Jeff Denham. August 24, 2017. https://denham.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1972, retrieved August 26, 2017.
6. “Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca#guidelines, retrieved August 26, 2017.
7. Denham, Op. cit.
8. “U.S. Rep. McSally Calls on Speaker Ryan to Take Up Legislation Addressing DACA.” Martha McSally. September 1, 2017. https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-mcsally-calls-speaker-ryan-take-legislation-addressing-daca, retrieved September 4, 2017.
9. Denham, Op. cit.
10. McSally, Op. cit.
11. Ibid.
12. “Reichert Urges Protection of DACA Program.” Dave Reichert. September 5, 2017. https://reichert.house.gov/press-release/reichert-urges-protection-daca-program, retrieved September 9, 2017.
13. “Collins Calls for Immediate Congressional Action for Permanent Legal Solution for DACA.” Congressman Chris Collins. September 7, 2017. https://chriscollins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/collins-calls-for-immediate-congressional-action-for-permanent-legal, retrieved September 9, 2017.
14. “Upton Statement on DACA.” Fred Upton. September 5, 2017. https://upton.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398869, retrieved September 9, 2017.
15. “H.R.1468 – Recognizing America’s Children Act.” Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1468/all-actions, retrieved October 23, 2017.
16. “Curbelo Leads Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers to Grant Legal Permanent Resident Status to TPS Migrants.” Carlos Curbelo. October 31, 2017. https://curbelo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1723, retrieved November 11, 2017.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. “Curbelo Comments on House Passage of Spending Bill Without DACA Fix [ENGLISH AND ESPANOL] Carlos Curbelo. December 21, 2017. https://curbelo.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1810, retrieved December 25, 2017.
20. “Rep. Denham invokes little-known “queen-of-the-hill” rule to advance immigration reform bills.” Jeff Denham. March 18, 2018. https://denham.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2353, retrieved April 13, 2018.
21. Ibid.
22. “Rep. Valadao Explains Queen of the Hill Resolution.” David G. Valadao. March 19, 2018. https://valadao.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=398533, retrieved April 13, 2018.
23. Ibid.
24. “Republican Members of Congress Sign Discharge Petition to Force DACA Vote.” Jeff Denham. May 9, 2018. https://denham.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2477, retrieved June 4, 2018.
25. “Republican Members of Congress Sign Discharge Petition to Force DACA Vote.” Rep. Will Hurd. May 9, 2018. https://hurd.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/republican-members-congress-sign-discharge-petition-force-daca-vote, retrieved June 4, 2018.
26. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) quoted in “Republican Members of Congress Sign Discharge Petition to Force DACA Vote.” Rep. Will Hurd. May 9, 2018. https://hurd.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/republican-members-congress-sign-discharge-petition-force-daca-vote, retrieved June 4, 2018.
27. “Rosen Signs Bipartisan Discharge Petition to Force a Vote to Protect Dreamers.” Jacky Rosen. May 18, 2018. https://rosen.house.gov/media/press-releases/rosen-signs-bipartisan-discharge-petition-force-vote-protect-dreamers, retrieved June 4, 2018.
28. “Rep. Denham introduces immigration consensus bill alongside House colleagues.” Jeff Denham. June 19, 2018. https://denham.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx? DocumentID=2591, retrieved June 25, 2018.
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