By Tyler Pager
WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Tuesday blasted Republicans for using legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security as a political tool to undermine President Barack Obama’s executive actions easing immigration restrictions.
House Democrats criticize Republicans’ Department of Homeland Security Bill on Tuesday outside the Capitol. (Tyler Pager/MNS)
The legislation, which would allocate $39.7 billion to the DHS for the rest of the fiscal year, includes amendments that would block spending for Obama’s order that lifts the threat of deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants. The department’s funding is set to run out in February.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday the Republican-controlled House will pass the legislation this week.
On the steps of the Capitol, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and members of the Democratic Caucus said the legislation was particularly dangerous in light of the recent attacks in Paris.
“You think it would have heightened the urgency to pass a homeland security bill, but Republicans still say ‘no,’ still say ‘no’ to passing a clean bill unless they can be a menace to immigration,” Pelosi said.
However, the legislation has the potential to hurt both Democrats and Republicans, said John Hudak, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said if Republicans are viewed as playing politics and the DHS is not funded, there will be political consequences.
“But if they can get a bill to the president’s desk, that creates a difficult scenario for the president because it’s hard for the president, especially in the environment we’re in right now, to veto a homeland security funding bill,” Hudak said. “The politics around the legislation are difficult for both sides because neither side can look like the ones who are negatively affecting the Department of Homeland Security broadly.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urges the House to pass a clean DHS funding bill in light of the recent terror attacks in Paris. (Tyler Pager/MNS)
With the 2016 presidential election looming, immigration policies are becoming increasingly important as parties look to capture the Latino vote. Democrats will look to build on their strong Latino support from 2012, which played a key role in many swing states.
Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, said the Republicans’ continued discussion of immigration may hurt them with nonwhite voters in 2016.
“The Republicans somehow need to get past immigration as a political issue if they are going to make significant gains among the nonwhite population,” Rothenberg said. “To the extent the Republicans talk about the issue and the way they talk about the issue makes them seem less welcoming.”
For the Democrats, though, Rothenberg said there is no incentive to compromise because the pressure is on the Republicans to put together a comprehensive immigration package, something he said they are not in a position to do.
Hudak noted that as more Republicans come out in opposition to the issue, it can help drive more Latinos to the polls to cast ballots for Democrats.
“It’s hard to imagine this being a winning issue for the Republican Party or the Republican candidate,” he said.
