On Tuesday, the House of Representatives came under pressure to debate legislation that would protect young undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation from the US. A press conference was scheduled for Wednesday by a bipartisan group of lawmakers consisting of both Democrats and Republicans to reveal their plans to force the full House to debate several proposals to try to help the approximately 800,000 undocumented young immigrants who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The group is expected to announce that they have as many as 218 members of the House of Representatives supporting the idea of moving forward with a bipartisan immigration bill, the minimum number needed to pass bills in the House, which has 435 members.
The Republican Party has long been divided on the issue of immigration legislation, although most voters appear to want to help the Dreamers – young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors – to remain in the country. The announcement was made to put pressure on Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, according to a House Democratic aide, to either intensify top-level negotiations on a new compromise bill or to bring legislation to the floor of the House.
In an emailed statement, AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said that they continue to try to find enough support to create a solution that addresses both the deferred action issue and that of border security.