Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said Tuesday “one way or another” Congress will pass a fix for young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, but lawmakers will likely have to pass a short-term spending bill in the meantime.
The Florida Republican said Congress will probably have to pass a stopgap measure, amounting to a few days, to keep the government open as lawmakers reach an agreement. White House officials and congressional leaders are negotiating a deal that would provide some form of permanent status for the 800,000 undocumented that received relief under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In exchange for a fix, President Trump wants a border wall and other enforcement measures, but what form that would take is still uncertain.
“There is very very strong bipartisan support to solve the issue,” Diaz-Balart told a group of Latino reporters Tuesday in his Washington office. “It might get ugly before it happens, but I think it’s going to happen.”
Diaz-Balart said it will require both sides moving a bit “towards the center” in negotiating, but he’s “convinced” it will happen despite red lines being drawn by the president on border security.
Diaz-Balart will be in a bipartisan group of lawmakers meeting with Trump at the White House Tuesday. Congress must pass a spending bill by Jan. 19 in order to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers had hoped to reach a deal on a two-year budget to raise the caps for defense and domestic spending that would include a DACA fix, and money for children’s health insurance.
If an agreement isn’t reached and the government shuts down, Diaz-Balart predicted Republicans would be blamed by the public because they control Congress and the White House.
