How Trump’s DACA Decision Could Have Drastic Consequences for the GOP
Trump’s impending decision to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program after a six-month delay may not simply split apart families. It may also divide an already splintered Republican Party.
While Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham and the feckless Steve King, support an end to protections for immigrants brought to the US illegally as children, King says any delay allowing leaders to “push amnesty is Republican suicide.” Other Republicans, meanwhile, are starkly against killing DACA altogether. Sen. James Lankford, for one, notes Americans should “not hold children legally accountable for the actions of their parents.”
Related: How Scrapping DACA Could Cost the US Billions of Dollars
Republican Senators Jerry Moran, Orrin Hatch, and Jeff Flake have also expressed their support for DACA, per NBC News and the Washington Post, while Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have said they are sympathetic to “Dreamers.”
Trump’s decision to dismantle DACA, after a six-month period allowing Congress to come up with a solution, is expected to be announced by salivating Trump surrogate Jeff Sessions at an 11am briefing Tuesday at the White House.
Related: Why a Real Leader Will Speak Out if Trump Ends DACA
Several House Republicans are speculating one possible deal in response would involve codifying DACA in exchange for funds to start Trump’s proposed border wall. But Republicans will also need Democratic support to raise the debt ceiling this month, and Dems could make codifying DACA, without mention of Trump’s reckless pet project, an absolute condition of their support.
This is a time to be carefully watching the actions of elected representatives, as a vote to end DACA could well be a vote toward ending the Republican Party, as it would be hard to imagine the majority of America’s millions of Hispanics ever again voting for an “R” when they step inside that booth on election day.