Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) announced today that he will vote to shut down the federal government at the end of the year if the GOP spending bill does not include legislation to give amnesty to potentially 3.5 million illegal aliens in the United States.
In a speech to the pro-immigration IMPAC Fund, Curbelo threatened to help Democrats shut down the government if the 3.5 million illegal aliens who are enrolled and eligible for the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are not given amnesty to permanently remain in the U.S.
“I will make some news here of particular interest to our friends in the fourth estate,” Curbelo said, according to the Hill. “I am announcing today that I will not support any appropriations bill that funds the government beyond December 31st unless we get this DACA issue resolved.”
“And by the way, it doesn’t have to be included in the spending bill, but it has to get done,” Curbelo said. “Again, as long as it gets done I’m okay with a stand-alone bill, if it’s part of another package, let’s just get it done.”
The open borders lobby immediately praised Curbelo following his threat:
Video: @RepCurbelo announces he will not support a government funding bill past 12/31 that does not include protection for #Dreamers pic.twitter.com/w8WyJYl8NC
— FWD.us (@FWDus) November 28, 2017
LEADERSHIP: Watch @RepCurbelo announce he won’t vote for any appropriation until #DACA fix is reached 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://t.co/mbQonobtev
— Juan Escalante (@JuanSaaa) November 28, 2017
New story from @TalKopan: Republican @RepCurbelo won't vote for government funding without DACA deal. https://t.co/PKVF91l4V7
— New American Economy (@NewAmericanEcon) November 28, 2017
Thank you @RepCurbelo for taking a stand on #DACA Congress needs to take action now!https://t.co/tgUzREYaBG
— LWV Miami-Dade (@LWVMiamiDade) November 28, 2017
In September, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that DACA for the nearly 800,000 illegal aliens currently shielded from deportation by the program would officially end in March 2018. Since then, the Republican establishment and Democrats have scrambled to try to pass a year-end amnesty that would have overwhelming negative impacts on Americans for decades.
Curbelo’s concession that he would support “any” of the current amnesty bills—many of which would potentially lead to a chain migration of 9.9 million to 19 million foreign nationals entering the U.S.—so long as they are passed by the end of a year in which President Trump slammed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for their refusal to support the White House’s detailed, 70-point list of pro-American immigration reform principles.
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
Though Curbelo has now allied himself with some far-left Democrats on shutting down the government over amnesty, the White House has reaffirmed that it will not support any deal on DACA unless it includes the Trump administration’s immigration principles, which include:
- Construction of a border wall
- Deporting unaccompanied alien children who are not at-risk in their native country
- Preventing criminal illegal aliens and gang members from receiving immigration benefits
- Mandating E-Verify, which weeds out illegal aliens from taking U.S. jobs
- Eliminating the diversity visa lottery
- Classifying overstaying a visa as a “misdemeanor”
- Restricting certain federal grants to sanctuary cities that refuse to detain criminal illegal aliens
- Ending family-based chain migration
- Enacting a merit-based legal immigration where only qualified immigrants can enter the U.S.
“The President has made clear any immigration reform must first deliver for American citizens and workers,” Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said. “His priorities are securing the border with a wall, closing legal loopholes that enable illegal entry, interior enforcement and combating visa overstays, and ending chain migration.”
Though Curbelo is unwilling to support Trump’s populist immigration agenda, the White House initiative remains more popular with Americans than giving illegal aliens amnesty.
A recent Morning Consult-Politico poll found that less than 30 percent of Americans said giving DACA illegal aliens amnesty should be a priority, Breitbart News reported.
Meanwhile, a whopping 82 percent of Americans said helping unemployed Americans find jobs should be a higher priority for Congress than providing work permits to illegal aliens, a poll conducted by National Research Inc /The Polling Company found. A total of 78 percent of Democrats agreed that unemployed Americans should be helped before illegal aliens are.
On the other hand, a Pulse Opinion Research poll in August, though, showed that Americans believe the second-most important aspect to stemming the flow of illegal immigration was constructing a border wall on the southern border.
That same poll found that 68 percent of Americans support mandatory E-Verify, 53 percent say stopping employers from hiring illegal aliens was the most important component to ending illegal immigration, and 54 percent said they wanted to see overall legal immigration levels reduced.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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