Boehner: Cruz idea not in House mix

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday signaled he’s not considering a border proposal from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as part of the legislation the House GOP is preparing for the floor.

Cruz, a Tea Party favorite who is influential among House conservatives, wants to defund President Obama’s 2012 program deferring deportations of certain children who illegally immigrated to the United States as children before 2007.

{mosads}Under the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program, children who meet certain requirements are allowed to stay in the United States without fear of deportation.

Asked about DACA at his weekly press conference, Boehner said only, “I’m focused on the recommendations from our working group. We’re operating within those guidelines.”

Cruz and other Republicans blame the program for inciting the wave of Central American children now crossing the border. They argue Congress should signal its intent to unwind it.

Heritage Action criticized a GOP working group’s proposals unveiled on Wednesday for not including changes to the program.

“We are currently reviewing the recommendations and will wait until legislative text is available before commenting further, but it is difficult to overlook the glaring absence of anything related to DACA, which the House voted to block in 2012 and 2013,” Heritage Action spokesman Dan Holler said in a statement Wednesday evening.