It’s not the first time the Democrats have failed the Dreamers. In 2009-2010 the party controlled the Congress and the White House, but supposed “master strategist” Chuck Schumer held off on promoting the DREAM Act in the hopes of getting a comprehensive immigration reform. That didn’t work. The Democrats finally held a vote on the bill in December, but the effort flopped when five Democratic senators nixed it. So there’s a reason immigrant youths don't trust the Democrats.—TPOI editor
 |
| United We Dream’s Cristina Jiménez. Photo: Reed Saxon/AP |
Liberals livid after deal to end shutdown
Activist groups were angry at how the negotiations turned out, with some calling it '#SchumerSellout.'
By Elana Schor, Politico
January 22, 2018Liberal activists are furious with Democratic senators after most of them agreed to reopen the federal government without a firm path to shielding young immigrants from deportation.
As the third day of the shutdown dawned, liberal advocates and immigration groups fired off a joint statement blasting as “unacceptable” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s offer merely to hold a vote on immigration — with no promises for action from the House or White House — in exchange for Democratic votes to reopen the government. But three hours later, Democratic senators agreed to just those terms — sparking anger on the left.[…]
Read the full article:
Senate Democrats’ Vote to End Shutdown Infuriates Some on the Left
By Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, New York Times
January 22, 2018WASHINGTON — The decision by Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown on Monday in exchange for a promised immigration vote enraged liberals, who accused the lawmakers of betrayal and threatened to mount primaries against some of the Democrats who voted yes.
Regardless of what happens in the Senate, progressive and immigrant advocacy groups said House Republican leaders will never take up a bill that would offer legal status to young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children without excruciating concessions on other immigration issues. They accused Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, and moderate Democratic senators of capitulating to protect senators up for re-election in November in Republican-leaning states.[…]
Read the full article:
Schumer Sells Out the Resistance
By Michelle Goldberg, New York Times
January 22, 2018
This weekend, more than one million people took to the streets nationwide for the first anniversary of the Women’s March. Though not nearly as big as the protests a year ago, it was still a larger public manifestation than anything the Tea Party ever managed. And though the demonstration was meant as a rebuke to Donald Trump, one central demand was that Congress stand up for the young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, who were brought to the country as children. They now face deportation because Trump has moved to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program protecting them.
The energy of the progressive grass roots should be seen as a valuable resource for Democrats. If Donald Trump’s election taught us anything beyond the salience of white nationalism among our fellow citizens, it’s that passion matters, and that people respond when they see a leader who is willing to champion them even when it’s risky. That’s why it was so infuriating to see the Senate Democratic leadership sell the Dreamers out.[…]
Read the full article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/22/opinion/schumer-sellout-resistance-shutdown.html
