Republicans to keep up immigration fight
after court ruling
Send a link to a friend
[February 20, 2015]
By David Lawder and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservatives in
the U.S. Congress, emboldened by a federal judge's action, say they will
renew their assault on President Barack Obama's immigration orders next
week, even if it heightens the risk of a partial Department of Homeland
Security shutdown on Feb. 27.
|
A temporary court order on Monday blocking Obama's executive
actions lifting the threat of deportation for millions of
undocumented immigrants has bolstered conservative support for a
House of Representatives-passed Homeland Security spending bill that
bans spending on Obama's actions.
The court ruling "gives momentum to our position," said
Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican who heads a group of
about 35 staunch conservatives known as the House Freedom Caucus.
During a conference call on Wednesday, members of the group vowed
not to waver from their demands that Senate Democrats, who have
blocked the House bill three times, drop their objections and pass
it.
Obama has promised to veto any funding bill that blocks his
executive orders, and Democrats have shown no signs of changing
their position.
"The conservative Republicans won this round. So why are people now
looking at us to change the bill that we passed?" said
Representative Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina, adding that was the
"overwhelming consensus" expressed on the call.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/20/images/ads/current/edward_jones_sda_pollice.png)
The administration has promised to appeal the injunction issued by
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, a city on the
Texas-Mexico border.
A senior Republican aide said conservatives would need more
assurance that Hanen's decision would withstand an appeal before
they could consider a "clean" Homeland Security funding bill. But
the appeal could give Republicans a reason to back a one-month
extension of current department funding levels in order to see how
the case plays out in court, the aide said.
"The default position of the House will be a continuing resolution"
to provide short-term funding for the department, said moderate
Republican Representative Charlie Dent. That was better than cutting
off funds, he said, but "not as good" as a clean funding bill.
[to top of second column]
|
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/20/images/ads/current/graue_preowned_021615.png)
House Speaker John Boehner said he hoped the ruling would convince
Senate Democrats to allow the House bill to proceed. Republican
House members will discuss their next move when they return from a
holiday break next week, leadership aides said.
If Homeland Security funding expires at midnight on Feb. 27, some
30,000 employees would be furloughed, but many of the department's
critical protective missions would continue uninterrupted, including
airport and border security and Coast Guard patrols. Employees
performing these functions would not be paid until funding is
restored, however.
That would prompt a flurry of finger-pointing in Congress as
Democrats and Republicans try to pin the blame on each other.
A CNN/ORC poll taken last week found 53 percent of Americans would
blame congressional Republicans for any Homeland Security shutdowns,
while only 30 percent would blame Obama. That is in line with
historical patterns for previous federal agency shutdowns, which
have been blamed by the public on Republicans.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by John Whitesides
and Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Feb/20/images/ads/current/mksgeneric_lda.png) |