Once Again, Congress Leaves Town Without An Immigration Solution
(CNN) -- Not even a crisis on the southern border could force Congress to act on immigration.
Lawmakers left Washington this week without passing a single bill to address what has been a months-long saga for parents and children who have been separated despite calls from all sides of the political spectrum to act.
"I think we are proving to ourselves that Republicans cannot pass an immigration bill," one Republican House member told CNN about the week.
In the House, Republicans tried and failed to pass a comprehensive immigration bill that addressed family separations as well as provided $25 billion in border security and a path to citizenship for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The bill earned only 121 votes, far fewer than a more conservative proposal that had been voted on earlier in June (that bill also failed).
"Disappointment is no longer a word I utilize here in Washington, DC," said Rep. Tom Reed, a Republican from New York who voted for the compromise.
The plan had always been to pivot to a more narrow family separation bill if a compromise couldn't be found, but even that has proven difficult. Multiple GOP aides say they have waited for direction from the administration on what the President wants from Congress. After two roller coaster weeks over whether Trump would support the compromise GOP immigration bill, House Republican aides say guidance from the administration is essential to passing a narrow bill and that leaders are not interested in rushing legislation if it won't have Trump's blessing in the end.
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"The White House has said Congress needs to solve this problem, yet they have been completely unclear and inconsistent on what it is they would or wouldn't be willing to support," one GOP leadership aide said. "It's a useless exercise to have our members vote on something the President might not sign."
According to the latest numbers from the administration there are still more than 2,000 children in Department of Health and Human Services custody that have yet to be reunited with their parents with little clarity as to how long such an arduous process may take. A federal judge in California ruled earlier this week that children must be reunited with their parents within 30 days and that children under the age of 5 must be reunited within 14 days, but it's unclear whether the administration will follow such guidelines.
"There is no way that they are working to comply with that court order," Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois told CNN after a briefing by the administration Thursday. "They couldn't possibly do it if they didn't know that basic information. And at this point it sounds like they are going to be headed back to court with more lawyers to fight the court orders."
The administration issued an executive order trying to end the practice of family separation, but there was still little clarity in how the order will be implemented or how quickly. Congress had aimed to pass something narrow and fast but in both the House and the Senate, nothing came together before lawmakers left for the week-long 4th of July recess, a symptom -- in part -- according to aides that came from the Trump administration's own lack of clarity about what they wanted Congress to draft.
The lack of action on immigration is hardly surprising in Congress nor is it new. Immigration galvanizes both the left and the right's base, a reality that makes it harder to find a compromise in the middle.
"That makes it harder to solve on both sides," said Rep. Steve Stivers, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
But, the stories of parents and children being separated at the Southern border added new urgency for members on both sides of the aisle and created a real -- albeit temporary-- impetus to act.
"Family separation is wicked," Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican said in a Facebook post admonishing the administration. "It is harmful to kids and absolutely should NOT be the default US policy. Americans are better than this."
On Monday evening, a group of odd political bedfellows Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina as well as Durbin and Dianne Feinstein of California met to try and find a middle ground on how to end family separations in the Senate, but the meeting failed to produce a concrete outcome before the end of the week.
But, the group continues to work and there is still no compromise legislation in the Senate.
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