With lawmakers in the US attempting to secure the votes they need to pass a spending bill to prevent another government shutdown, House Speaker, Paul Ryan, has been attempting to pacify Democrats by claiming that a bill on immigration is the next major priority.
Nancy Pelosi, the leading House Democrat, has threatened to block the new bill, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which will fund the US government beyond midnight on Thursday, unless Ryan commits to holding a debate on the ‘Dreamers’ – the young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as minors. They were previously protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has now been rescinded by President Donald Trump.
But, while Ryan had not made any promises by Thursday, he did say that he had every intention of solving the problem and having a bill that dealt with Dreamers and general immigration reform brought up in the House of Representatives before too long.
The House will barely have the time in which to debate the new bill before the expiry of current government funding. Despite the Republican Party holding the balance of power, they will need Democrat support, due to three dozen Republicans announcing that they will oppose the bill as they are against the increase in government funding, which it will increase by another $300 billion. Democrats have been attempting to use the spending bill as leverage to force legislation to deal with the Dreamers.