House Dem slams shutdown deal: Senate Dems didn’t ‘go to the mat’ for Dreamers
A House Democrat tore into Senate Democrats on Monday for the deal to end the government shutdown, saying they did not “go to the mat” for immigrants the same way they would for same-sex marriage or national parks.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said in a statement Monday that the Senate’s deal, which postpones negotiations on a deal to protect Dreamers, was a missed opportunity.
“If Republicans said we are ending same-sex marriage, but we promise Democrats a vote later; or we approve of oil drilling in every national park, but you’ll have a vote later — do you think the Democrats would say yes?” Gutiérrez said.
{mosads}“This shows me that when it comes to immigrants, Latinos and their families, Democrats are still not willing to go to the mat to allow people in my community to live in our country legally,” he added.
The Senate voted Monday to end the three-day government shutdown, reaching a deal to fund the government until Feb. 8 in exchange for a promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to let an immigration bill reach the floor for a vote next month.
Gutiérrez criticized Senate Democrats for accepting a “vague promise” from McConnell.
The 13-term Chicago congressman and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s Immigration Task Force said the vote “simply kicks the can down the road” with no assurance that an immigration bill will actually pass through both houses of Congress.
Progressive groups have similarly hammered Senate Democrats for the vote, saying they caved and took a bad deal.
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