WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled a long-awaited showdown vote on a broad Republican immigration bill for Wednesday, but is showing little confidence that the package will survive.
Underscoring the legislation’s weak prospects in his GOP-run chamber, Ryan, R-Wis., declined to answer questions Tuesday about a separate, narrow measure Republicans are privately discussing. It would focus on the issue that has grabbed public attention in recent days: the Trump administration’s separation of migrant children from their parents when families are caught crossing the border without authorization.
“If that doesn’t succeed, then we’ll cross that bridge,” Ryan told reporters about his preference to focus on trying to pass the broader bill. “But the last thing I want to do is undercut a vote on what is a great consensus bill.”
Many conservatives are preparing to vote against the wider ranging bill because it would provide a chance for citizenship for many immigrants who arrived illegally in the U.S. as children. They have blasted that provision as “amnesty,” and the emerging, narrower bill would give them a chance to show they are addressing family separation without risking the wrath of hard-right voters.
The broader measure would also stop the Homeland Security Department from separating migrant families and provide $25 billion for President Donald Trump’s border wall and other security measures. Democrats are expected to solidly oppose that bill, which is a compromise between GOP moderates and conservatives.