On Thursday, the US Senate blocked several immigration proposals. These included the bipartisan compromise, for which President Donald Trump had signaled his opposition, reducing hopes that the Dreamers issue could reach a speedy resolution in Congress. The President had made it clear that he would not approve the bipartisan deal due to its failure to include the legal immigration restrictions he has called for, describing it as a catastrophe that would force a dramatic reduction in immigration enforcement.
The Republican leadership in the Senate had set aside last week to try and come to an agreement on the fate of 1.8 million undocumented immigrants brought to the US while they were still minors, as well as to boost border security and try to tighten up current immigration regulations.
The efforts proved to be a spectacular failure and have left the whole process hanging in the air. Lawmakers now have a ten-day recess. The legal protections for those who benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will expire on 5 March, and they could become eligible for deportation from the US.
But, the order to end the program was recently blocked by two judges, with the Supreme Court now being petitioned to take up the case by officials with the Trump administration. Around 690,000 Dreamers signed up for the program, which began back in 2012, with another 1.1 million eligible but electing not to sign up.