Democrats are unified in their fight to protect undocumented immigrants from Republican efforts to block President Obama’s executive amnesty, according to Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL).
“There is no divide in the Democratic caucus on this issue. We’re going to stand with the President,” Gutiérrez stressed Tuesday, arguing that Democrats will sustain Obama’s veto against Republican efforts to defund his executive actions.
Wednesday, the House will to vote on a Department of Homeland Security funding bill that is expected to include Republican amendments that would block and defund Obama’s executive amnesty.
The White House threatened to veto the DHS spending bill Monday, if the bill contains any provisions to block Obama’s executive actions, a fact Gutiérrez stressed Republicans cannot escape.
“If any of these poison pills are attached I expect the President of the United States to carry out his veto threat and I expect the Democrats to sustain that veto threat. I think there is an important number and it’s two-thirds and they don’t got it in the House of Representatives much less 60 votes in the Senate,” Gutiérrez said, calling the belief that Obama would sign or negotiate over such a bill if it passed the Senate a “fantasy.”
“There is no negotiation on the principles of the president’s authority” to enact executive amnesty, he explained going on to stress he doesn’t think that there is no way the Republican effort to defund Obama’s executive amnesty will ever become law.
Gutiérrez made his comments flanked by other House Democrats at a press conference highlighting his upcoming tour to mobilize immigration activist and the undocumented community to sign up for executive amnesty. The first stop is tomorrow in Providence, Rhode Island.
A number of Democrats who spoke about their immigration workshops with Gutiérrez argued that Republicans are using the effort to defund executive amnesty as a way to scare undocumented immigrants and prevent them from coming out and registering with the government.
“Republicans are using the floor of the House of Representatives to scare and confuse people and I believe actually to dissuade them from coming forward and receiving the relief provided by the president’s action,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-CA) said.
Indeed, Gutiérrez addressed the undocumented population directly to assure them not to be “fearful.”
“There are many people as we go around the country that are fearful and I want them to we’ve got your back. We’re here standing up for you,” he said.
Other Democrats in attendance included Reps. David Cicilline (RI), Judy Chu (CA), Al Green (TX), Karen Bass (CA), Jared Polis (CO), Juan Vargas (CA), and Alan Grayson (FL).
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