Congressman Dave Brat on House Republicans holding what Speaker Paul Ryan described as a "productive" meeting about efforts by a small group of GOP members to force a massive illegal alien amnesty to the floor for a vote. By "productive," Ryan meant nothing was decided, but no punches were thrown.
The rogue group of Republican House members seem to be on track to collect the 218 signatures needed to get a bill to the floor. The bill the rogue Republicans and their unified Democratic caucus allies seem to have settled on, the Uniting and Securing America (USA) Act, H.R. 4796, would grant amnesty to more than three million illegal aliens who entered the United States as minors - more than four times the number of illegal aliens who enjoy DACA protections.
In a laughable effort to balance the scales, the USA Act offers the American public the assurance that the problem of mass illegal immigration will receive further study.
Not everyone shared the speaker's view that productive is the best adjective to describe Thursday's meeting. Speaking on behalf of the vast majority of Republican members who oppose the Discharge power play, Virginian Rep. Dave Brat noted, "[W]e made promises to the American people who we represent. And so we represent the Republican platform... We didn't agree to work on the Democrat platform, right? And so we had elections that validated this across the country. I ran on it. The president ran on it. We all run on it." The Republicans behind the Discharge effort "know they've structured this queen-of-the-hill bill that will end up in an amnesty for 10 million and won't do anything on the borders and won't do anything to solve the underlying problem...[I]f you pass any of the Democrat bills, you'll end up with another amnesty in three to five years."
Meanwhile, what is being lost is an opportunity to bring a strong bill to the floor of the House, the Securing America's Future Act, H.R. 4760, that extends relief for current DACA beneficiaries in exchange for real border security, interior and workplace enforcement, an end to dangerous sanctuary policies, and other provisions that have broad public support.