Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., warned Monday that House Republican centrists shouldn’t be “duped” into supporting a compromise immigration bill being written by House leadership that won’t move in the Senate.
“The House moderates will lose all credibility if they accept this sham of a bill, which is extreme and drastically cuts immigration in ways unacceptable to the Senate and the American people,” Schumer said in a statement. “It holds Dreamers and kids who have been separated from their parents hostage in order to cut legal immigration and enact the hard right’s immigration agenda.”
“If the House moderates really want to get something done on immigration, they should not be duped by their leadership for a bill that they know isn’t going anywhere,” he added.
The bill is a compromise package negotiated by leadership and centrist members, led by Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., in an effort by leadership and conservatives to stop a discharge petition. The petition would have forced a series of votes on Democratic-leaning bills.
The remarks come after House leadership said that the two bills — the compromise bill and another bill drafted by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va. — could come up for a vote this week. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said that the bills could receive “possible consideration” this week.
After confusion late last week, the White House announced that President Trump supports the compromise package, which the White House helped negotiate.
