Immigrant rights groups were hoping to find a legislative deal to shield the children of illegal immigrants under the Christmas tree, but Congressman Henry Cuellar has a lump of coal for their stockings, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"I'm one of the strongest supporters of DACA and the Dreamers, but the reality is, it is not going to happen in December," he tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
It was President Barack Obama that used executive order to form the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012. It allows the so-called Dreamers, who come to the U.S. illegally as minors, to be shielded from deportation. Those who qualified received “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years.
There are nearly 800,000 undocumented youth who are protected under the program.Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced an end the DACA program. He put the onus on Congress to find a permanent fix.
Congressman Cuellar (D-TX) says threats by his fellow democrats to shut down the government if a fix to DACA is not part of the budget deal is irresponsible.
"The last time somebody shut down the government over one issue, it cost us $24 billion."
He says it's likely the issue will come up next year, either in a stand-alone bill or part of the appropriations process.
Meanwhile, three key Texas Republicans are pushing for a December fix for the DACA program. San Antonio Rep Will Hurd, Dallas Congressman Joe Barton, and central Texas Congressman Bill Flores all say there should be a 'legislative solution to DACA by the end of the year' and say if the issue bleeds into next year, thousands of people stand to be deported.