Compromise immigration bill gave Arizona Rep. Lesko ‘heartburn’
Jun 22, 2018, 11:19 AM
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
PHOENIX — An immigration bill that would create a pathway to citizenship for the parents of “Dreamers” gave Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko “hearbtburn,” she said.
“I really don’t think that I can explain (voting for) that to my constituents,” Lesko said Friday on KTAR 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News. “That would be hard.”
House Republicans rejected a hard-right immigration bill Thursday, then delayed a vote on the compromise bill. The proposal would clear a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young adults, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the United States illegally as children by their parents.
Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals recipients are protected from deportation
“The thing that I really have heartburn about is … when the DACA recipients become citizens … (the bill) allows them to apply for their parents — the parents who brought the children here illegally — to be citizens,” Lesko said.
The congressional freshman said, “Most (Dreamers), through no fault of their own, are here and most of them … don’t even remember (living outside the U.S.).”
The 300-page compromise bill would also provide $25 billion for the border wall President Donald Trump wanted.
The failed bill did not include path to citizenship but would have approved $125 billion for the wall.
“I really wish it could have gotten the votes,” Lesko said.
“I think we can get there.”
Trump told his fellow Republicans in Congress to “stop wasting their time” on immigration legislation until after the November elections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
