The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon voted 237 to 187 to approve H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019. The bill, sponsored by Democrat U.S. Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, was approved on a mostly party-line vote with only seven Republicans joining Democrats to vote for this bill.
The measure would grant 2.5 million illegal immigrants who arrived here as minors (called DREAMers) many of whom are Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, as well as, those living in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programs a pathway to citizenship.
Iowa’s Democrat U.S. Reps. Cindy Axne, Abby Finkenauer, and Dave Loebsack voted for the bill. Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa voted no.
Finkenauer, a co-sponsor of the bill tweeted, “I was proud to cosponsor the Dream & Promise Act & to see it pass the House today. This is about doing whatâs right & fair for members of our #IA01 communities.”
As of the time of this article, Axne and Loebsack did not offer a public statement.
Republicans criticized the bill for expanding amnesty beyond the current 700,000 DACA recipients. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-Calif., claimed on his website that anywhere from two to four million illegal immigrants of any age could be eligible. Also, he states, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the cost of H.R. 6 would be $34.6 billion (Caffeinated Thoughts was unable to find the report on the CBO website). Republicans point out none of that money includes funding for border security.
They also note that the bill does not close loopholes or reform asylum laws.
King said that H.R. 6 represents a Democrat attempt to “make amnesty great again.”
âBy bringing HR 6 to the floor for a vote, House Democrats have shown they are chomping at the bit to undermine the Rule of Law in order to âMake Amnesty Great Again,ââ King said. âThe Democrats know that their mass amnesty legislation has no chance at becoming law, but they moved it to the floor anyway because they canât control their open-borders impulses.â
âLike President Trump, I know that our country needs an immigration policy that puts Americaâs needs first and the desires of illegal aliens last. HR 6 does the opposite. The Democratsâ bill will even encourage illegal immigration because it doesnât even contain one single penny for greater border security. I voted NO on HR 6 because we canât help President Trump âMake America Great Againâ if we let the Democrats succeed in âMaking Amnesty Great Again,'” he added.