The discharge petition filed on May 9 by House Republicans would force a House vote on H.Res 744, bipartisan legislation that would allow for consideration of four drastically different immigration proposals (these bills look to be similar to those considered in the Senate in March).
Res 744: Queen-of-the-Hill Rule
H.Res. 774 brings H.R. 4760, the anti-immigrant, anti-family Goodlatte bill (“Securing America’s Future Act”), to the floor, and sets up four votes on substitute amendments to replace the text of the bill with:- an amendment offered by Rep. Goodlatte (This is intended to be an updated version of H.R. 4760, which IIC opposes);
- an amendment offered by Rep. Roybal-Allard (This is intended to be the clean Dream Act, H.R. 3440, which IIC endorses);
- an amendment offered by Speaker Ryan (This can be anything, a four pillars bill or a White House-backed bill, which IIC likely would oppose); and
- an amendment offered by Rep. Denham (This is intended to be a revised version of the USA Act, H.R. 4796, which many IIC members support with caveats as currently written).
What is a Discharge Petition?
A discharge petition allows a majority of Members to force a measure to be considered on the House floor without the support of committees or leadership. As of May 10, there were 18 Republicans who signed the discharge petition for H. Res 744. To be successful, the discharge petition needs 218 signatures. All Democrats are expected to sign this discharge petition, so in order to be successful a total of 25 Republicans would have to sign. Under House rules, there are only two days that this measure could be brought up if it is successfully discharged: June 25 or July 23. It’s unpopular for Members of Congress to sign onto a discharge petition when their party is holding majority because it bucks at their party’s leadership. Discharge petitions are therefore rarely successful because they do not usually have the support of House leadership. However, those who have signed feel the urgency of the vulnerability to family separation and deportation DACA recipients and Dream Act-eligible immigrant youth are facing at the hands of a volatile administration. It is encouraging that these Members of Congress are pushing for the consideration and final passage of a solution for our community members.What are the risks?
If the petition is successful, it will be important for people of faith to reiterate our strong opposition to the Goodlatte bill, and ANY bill that drastically changes who this nation welcomes, undermines family unity, pours more money into border militarization, or weakens access to asylum. Any of the proposals could be amended to hurt communities that we care about. We must continue to press Congress to pass solutions for immigrant youth without putting others in jeopardy or further infringing upon the rights and safety of over-militarized border communities.What should you do?
Not all members of the IIC endorse the Queen of the Hill resolution, or it’s discharge, because of the risks of bringing forward harmful immigration bills for a vote on the House floor. Other IIC members see this as the only remaining opportunity to have a consideration of a clean Dream Act and an “up-or-down vote” (a direct or clean vote) on legislation that is more aligned with our values. At this point, advocates are advised, if they so choose, to encourage Republicans to support the discharge petition. For example, if your Member of Congress is a Republican and cosponsors H.R. 4796, the USA Act, they could be considering signing the discharge petition, and encouragement from constituents would go a long way to influence them to sign. At the same time, it is critical to urge Members of Congress to reject any proposals that would further militarize border communities (such as funds for the border wall), limit access to asylum, curtail family reunification, further dismantle refugee protections, or significantly alter our nation’s legal immigration system. If the discharge petition is successful, you’ll hear from us about next steps. Otherwise, it is important to continue engaging around advocating against any increase to deportation, detention, and border militarization funding, which Members of Congress will have to vote on by September 30. The appropriations process is guaranteed to move forward, and we must use that opportunity to continue to speak to our values and vision for how we welcome and protect our immigrant community members.Topline Talking Points:
- Since the president ended the DACA program, these young people have been living without any sense of what their futures will hold.
- Each day Congress fails to act, their futures hang in the balance.
- While the current court injunction provides temporary relief to current DACA recipients only, many more young immigrants are being left behind because they’re not allowed to apply for protection.
- Now is the time to act because the courts could rule as early as this fall on the fate of DACA and only Congress can provide certainty for Dreamers.
- The broad support for this rule is proof that there is a bipartisan consensus for protecting Dreamers— all we need is a vote.
- The misleading narrative that the Administration will not sign a clean Dream Act could lead to legislators working to add funding for the border wall or other efforts to militarize the border by saying “we have to make concessions.” Congress is the legislative body and does not need the permission of the president to legislate.
- Members of Congress who are serious about protecting DACA recipients must also reject any increase to deportation, detention, and border militarization funding in fiscal year 2019 and expand congressional oversight of existing enforcement.