The US Senate is preparing for another possible debate on immigration, as President Donald Trump looks to limit legal immigration to the US. The fate of over a million Dreamers, who came to the country as minors, hangs in the balance, with the threat of deportation a real possibility.
The last immigration debate hit a deadlock after the Democratic and Republican parties failed to reach a compromise on a deal to bring back to life the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which is set to end next month. The President is looking for a deal that will provide funding to the tune of $25 billion to help build the wall on the border between the US and Mexico in return for his approval on a new DACA.
The deal sought by Trump would also tighten restrictions on legal immigration, something that has been strongly opposed by the Democrats and even some Republicans, but also offer 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants the chance to get on a path to receiving US citizenship under a new deferred action program. Another, possibly final, deadline for government funding to try and avoid another government shutdown is looming on 23 March, and the debate seems set to be revived before that.
The Senate needs to pass a spending bill of $1.3 trillion. Republicans hope to force the Democrats to compromise, willing to wait for the Supreme Court to overrule lower court rulings to block the end of the DACA program.