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Daily Dispatch
January 23, 2019
Today, the Senate will vote on two bills: Trump’s “compromise” bill (more on that below) and a “clean” funding bill that would reopen the government until February 8. Neither will pass, but the exercise will serve two purposes: give lawmakers a chance to vote on something (which they haven’t done in weeks) and demonstrate to Trump that his bill isn’t a magic bullet.
As HuffPo reminds us, Trump’s bill would “gut existing asylum laws for children and trafficking victims from Central America, ban asylum for minors who present themselves at ports of entry, gut the concept of temporary protected status for future cases and expand immigration detention.”
Trump will have two meetings on immigration today: a phone call with local leaders and an in-person meeting with conservative leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.
A great headline from CNN today: “State Department cancels border security conference due to shutdown over border security”
Trump has succeeded in making immigration the top issue facing the country. And while he may be taking most of the blame for the shutdown at this point, come election time, the obsession with the immigration issue is more likely to help him than his eventual opponent.
From The Hill: “Pope [Francis]: Fear of migration ‘makes us crazy’”
The State of the State of the Union: The White House has asked the sergeant-at-arms to inspect the Capitol ahead of the SOTU, but given that Pelosi has yet to invite him, word is he’s considering giving the address outside of DC at a more rally-like event – which means it is NOT the SOTU. While Sarah Sanders describes SOTU as a “conversation with the American people,” it is in fact a report to the Congress, so…
And Trump has a new little slogan for his border wall:
BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL! This is the new theme, for two years until the Wall is finished (under construction now), of the Republican Party. Use it and pray!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019
He's really proud of it...
BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019
Other Stories:
So much talk about “immigration loopholes,” but not so much about this one: a report from the Senate committee on Homeland Security reveals thousands of requests by adult men to bring child brides into the U.S.
Catholic Legal Immigration Network and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project have filed suit against HHS for using kids as bait to arrest potential sponsors. Read the full document here.
Anne Arundel county (Maryland) decided to end its 287(g) cooperation with ICE. The plan was to continue contracting with ICE to house detainees in the county jail but to use the proceeds to provide legal representation for those detainees. ICE, though, isn’t having it and ended the contract as a retaliatory measure: “ICE looks to partner with counties that are willing to cooperate in support of our public safety mission and believes the (county’s) decision to terminate the agreement undermines this mission.”
Listen: “Native American Leader: ‘A Border Wall Is Not The Answer’” (NPR)
And for all the unpaid and furloughed workers: