McCain, Coons unveil narrow, bipartisan DACA deal

WASHINGTON—Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Chris Coons, D-Del., introduced a bipartisan bill Monday to provide narrow immigration reforms and break through congressional gridlock. The legislation is nearly identical to a House bill unveiled last month by Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, and Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. If passed, the legislation would offer a pathway to citizenship for beneficiaries under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and other young immigrants who have lived in the United States since Dec. 31, 2013. The bill orders a comprehensive study by the Department of Homeland Security to determine what border-security measures are needed but stops short of giving President Donald Trump $25 billion for the construction of a wall on the U.S. southern border. McCain and Coons said this narrower approach would free Congress to focus on other priorities, like finishing a budget deal to fully fund the military. “While reaching a deal cannot come soon enough for America’s service members, the current political reality demands bipartisan cooperation to address the impending expiration of the DACA program and secure the southern border,” McCain said in a statement. The bill also requests hiring 55 new judges per year for the next three years to clear a backlog in the immigration court system. “We need to find a way through this gridlock to get Congress working again, and this is a viable path forward,” Coons said. DACA recipients begin to lose their deportation protections after March 5. The government runs out of funding Friday unless lawmakers pass a new spending bill.